Cove of the Moon
by Lady-Raettawy
Summary: Captain James Hook dreams. He dreams of a woman, his soul mate. Is she simply a dream? Or is she real? Will he ever find her? Based on the Peter Pan 2003 Captain Hook Jason Isaacs version. Conceived as a one-shot, but our dear captain has more secrets to tell this author. Captain James Hook/OC female. Many thanks to laurielove for beta-ing & my BFF for encouragement.
1. Chapter 1

Hook laid his head on his desk. He knew that he should move to his bed, but it was too big, too empty. It reminded him that he was alone and unloved. No woman would share his bed for as long as he was trapped in this ageless, eternal hell. He was surrounded by flying puling spawn, incompetent pirates, and natives. All of who seemed determined to make his life miserable. Was it too much to ask for a woman? His own woman? His own pirate queen with whom he could rule the seas? His heart ached for a moment. His missing right hand throbbed with ghost pain, which was echoed by the real pain around his wrist, although the muscat dulled the feeling somewhat. "Damn that flying bastard to Hell. Someday I shall kill him, and then I shall be free of him," he whispered. His eyes grew heavy. His breathing became deep and regular. The pain lingered in his sleeping sub-conscious, but mercifully, it was pushed to the background. The man slept on the hard desk.

Darkness surrounded him. He was on shore. He was in the dream. The same one he'd been having for months. As always, thankfully, it was a foreign territory, perhaps it was somewhere in the Americas or perhaps the Mediterranean. Behind him and around the cove, dark shapes rose up in the starlight. He did not know where and he did not care. The most important thing was that it was not Neverland. But against his desires, the pirate in him sniffed. There were the scents of sea, land, dry soil, dry heat, and - there - a hint of plants: olive, grapes, fennel, rosemary, and wild oregano. He looked at the stars. They were real stars, not Neverland stars. He searched his memory for stars of the real world. Crete. After months of ignorance, he'd finally cracked the mystery of the place.

Hook stood in his dressing gown and black breeches. His silk black shirt hung open at the neck and was pulled out of his waistband. His feet were bare. The pirate's hair was a riotous mass of glossy black curls. The man rubbed his hand over his goatee. His hook gleamed in the dim light. Aside from his hook, he was weaponless. He was physically safe here. There was no Pan, no hungry crocodile, none of his useless pirates. He breathed out slowly and relaxed. The waves rolled in smoothly and covered the shore for a moment before they rolled out again. It was high tide. The cove was comfortably warm, and there was a light breeze. But still he shivered, only, however, in anticipation. An errant curl tickled his cheek and he pushed it away with his hook and hissed in irritation. Something was different tonight. There was a current of energy in the air. The night practically hummed with it. He sniffed again.

She came. He heard her before he saw her, soft footsteps as she crossed the pebbles of the beach. He could hear the click of the rounded rocks, worn smooth by eons of water, as they softly rolled and moved under her feet. He hoped that she would come and here she was, his mermaid, not that she was anything like those treacherous fishy wenches in Neverland. In fact, she wasn't a mermaid at all, but she reminded him of storybook mermaids from his youth, beautiful, buxom, and meant to be covered in jewels and little else. The only woman who willingly shared his life, but, the irony, only here in his dreams. She always left too soon for his liking. The desire to pull her into his real life rolled over him like a storm wave at sea. It tossed his battered and embittered heart like a ship in a hurricane.

His forget-me-not blue eyes warily watched her dark shape as she approached. She, like him, was dressed for comfort in strange soft breeches, a camisole, and a cotton dressing gown. She always kept her dark hair up. His hand itched to take it down and run his fingers through it. He knew she came from another age, her clothing told him this, as did her wicked tongue. She challenged him. He enjoyed it. She was a mouthy little wench. He snorted and then gave a lopsided smirk. She did not fear him. He scowled as he realized she was the only one who had no fear of him. Suddenly, he was doused with a feeling of loneliness. He felt old and tired. He shook his mane to rid his head of the unwelcome thought.

She walked up to him, and looked up. Her brown eyes glinted in the moonlight. She smiled. Ye Gods, she was brazen. The light scent of her faded perfume wafted towards him on the breeze. For a moment, he resisted the urge to lean down to inhale her faded scent and pluck the hair ornament out of her hair. He was too much of a gentleman, but, wait, Hook was also a pirate. Eton and proper society were too long gone, he decided. He did not have to be a gentleman if he did not desire. It was time to move this relationship apace. The pirate smiled back.

Then, for the first time in all of the nights, he reached out and touched her face. Surprise flashed across her countenance, but then she smiled. The woman, _his woman_, closed her eyes as his left hand gently explored her cheek, closed eyes, lips, jawline, and then the curved shell of her ear. She moved closer towards him, and he felt her hand settle gently on his left hip in order to steady herself. The sounds of the ocean receded into the distant background. The pirate reached around and plucked the strange ornament out of her hair. He tossed it aside and it fell, unheeded, on to the pebbles. He slid his left hand into her hair to untangle the heavy mass of dark chestnut curls. He reached out with his hook and gently moved the heavy strands that fell onto her shoulder. The hair hissed along the blade, but not a single one was cut by the razor sharp edge. Oh yes, the hook could be gentle if required. He felt her other hand on his back, and she slid farther into his arms. Her right hand slid from his hip to the small of his back. She rested her cheek on his chest. Hook lifted the hair to his nose and inhaled. An almost cat-like purr emanated from him, as he took in her scent: soap, perfume, ocean, rosemary, and woman.

The man heard her inhale, startled, he realized that she was echoing him. She breathed in the welcome smell of rum, tobacco, sea, leather, and gunpowder. The woman sighed, and whispered, "My pirate." He felt her hands curl into his back through his clothes. He dropped her hair and splayed his hand against the back of her neck and upper shoulder. His hook gently made its way lower. He pulled her against him, and pressed his face into her hair. They stood. Each reveled in the feel of the other's solid weight against their body. The moon watched, a silent witness to this new turn of events.

After a long while, the woman shifted in his arms and started to slide away. Disquieted by this action, he scowled as she moved. Hook had been dismissed. No one dismissed him, not even- She grasped his hand. She laughed softly when she looked up at him and saw his outraged expression. The woman's hand felt cool and soft in his. It was small. Hook's was large, warm, and calloused. He looked down to see their hands together. It was a night of firsts. He looked back to her eyes. She solemnly watched him. Then the woman reached up with her free hand and gently touched his cheek. He rubbed his thumb across the back of her hand. The pirate refused to shut his eyes. He boldly stared back at her as her fingers delicately chased the chiseled features. When they danced across his lips, his eyes flared red for a moment, and then closed. He soaked in the first feminine touch on his lips in what seemed to be a hundred years. A small moan escaped him. Her fingers stopped. The pirate's eyes snapped open, and he glanced down to see if she would mock him. Her gaze was filled with admiration. Something wicked made him open his mouth. The minx responded by sliding her fingers slightly deeper. He bit gently and then released. She pulled them away and then pressed them to her lips. He adjusted her hand in his, but then realized her attention had wandered. She was exploring his hook. He hissed and tried to pull it away, suddenly embarrassed by his long-time companion. He wanted nothing more than to hide it behind his back, discard it, or grow a new hand. He wanted to be whole with her, but she wouldn't let go.

Hook heard a soft sound. Confused, his head went up, searching for the origin. Ready to pull her behind him, defend her from danger. Then he realized it was she. The woman repeated herself, whispering. "Stop. Don't pull away. It is a part of you." He grunted in response, a typical male non-committal noise. Age-old communication played out between a pirate king and his queen. Her finger traced the patterns on the wooden case. Then she ran her finger down the silver hook. A soft gasp, a welling of blood, as the tip of his hook caught the pad of her finger.

He tsked softly, and then growled gently, "Give it here." With the blunt edge of the hook, he guided her finger to his mouth where he kissed the blood away. She watched him throughout this encounter. She pulled her finger away and looked at it.

And then, saucily, glanced up and said, "I think you hurt me here." She pointed to her cheek.

"Beauty, I do not- " Suddenly, Hook caught on. A game. A courting game. It had been too long since he had played, but he was good at games. "Ah, yes, my mermaid, I see the wound. Allow me to make it better." He leaned down and kissed the imaginary cut. He straightened.

"And here." She whispered. She pointed to her temple.

"Of course, my lady." He kissed that spot as well. The pirate was starting to appreciate this game.

"And here." She sounded winded as if she'd run fast down the beach. She pointed to a spot on her neck. "This one hurts exceptionally bad."

He tensed, his heat skipped a beat, and then he said slowly, "Yes, my dear, that is a hideous wound. It might take a larger kiss."

The woman nodded. Her heart thumped largely and slowly. He carefully moved her hair away with his hook, and then nuzzled her neck. He heard her gasp and then purr. Hook inhaled her scent again, and then laved her neck. Her hand slowly moved up his left arm and then he felt her tangle it in his hair as she grasped the back of his neck. "Yesss, don't stop. I'm not sure it's better yet." It was all he could do to answer with a growl. He felt her lips touch his neck, and then he couldn't help it, Hook pulled her face towards his and he kissed her. He reveled in the action. She answered him. She pressed against him. His hand moved down her back, his hook pulled her closer. He felt her pull him towards her.

Hook broke the kiss, and a mew of disappointment bubbled up from her. He shushed her, and then scooped her up into his arms. He strode determinedly away from the pebbly beach, hoping for sand. The goddess Tyche smiled upon them, and he found a sandy spot away from the gaze of the moon. He laid the woman down and then flung himself onto the soft velvet sand next to her. She impatient pulled him towards her. Her leg slid around him and pulled him even closer. He felt her hands on the skin of his back. Her legs wrapped around him. He felt her lips against his neck. She nipped him. Impertinent chit, oh how he loved her for that. _Loved?_ He frowned. He dismissed that thought with a care to remember to examine it later. He only had now with her before Aurora, rosy fingered dawn, came and chased his mermaid back to the shadows of dreams. This time she kissed him as he pushed up her camisole and slid his hand upwards towards her -

"Captain. Captain..."

Hook groaned. Confused, he felt hard wood and leather against his cheek. She'd left him. His mermaid abandoned him. Wait. No. She'd not left him. Not this time. Smee took him away from her. Smee, bloody Smee. He was back on his ship. For a moment, he heard her sad whisper in the air of his cabin: _"My beloved pirate, no! Don't leave me!"_ He ached to feel her against him again. He could still smell her on him. He could feel the warmth of her skin on his fingertips and the softness of her lips.

He whispered to himself. "_Oh, evil day, Hook is alone...again. Alone. Unloved. Old_." He heard the ticking of the clock. His wrist ached and pained him. He felt the familiar rocking of his ship. The weight of his heart seemed to equal the weight of three anchors while dragged by the Leviathan to the bottom of Davy Jones' Locker. He raised his head and stared at his bosun. His eyes flashed red. Smee backed up a step. He scowled, and then growled low. "What. Is. It? Why did you wake me, Smee?"

"'Tis the men, sir "

"I was dreaming, Smee. I was far away from Neverland, Pan, and that wretched ticking beast. And you woke me for stinking, drunken, incompetent sea-dogs." He sneered the last two words. "Hellfire and damnation! Why do I pay you to assist me, if you must run to me to solve every problem? Is your head as empty as a dried out coconut?" He barked out angrily. He reached out, grabbed his hook, and then smashed the clock.

"_Mermaid!_" His heart screamed, "_Where is my mermaid?_" He dropped his hook on the desk. He stood, stared at the broken and useless clock for a moment, and then sighed. "_Broken and useless like you,_" his inner voice whispered, "_No wonder she is in another place. She probably has a man called Husband in her world. You are a diversion, a dream. Pan is right. You are alone, unloved, and old._" Resigned, he turned and picked up the harness for his hook. "Come, Smee, let us start our day."

As he turned back, he caught sight of himself in the mirror. What was that on his neck? A bruise from sleeping on his desk? His punishment for sleeping alone? He looked more closely. No, brimstone and sulphur, it was a love bite. He raised his finger to it. It was sensitive when he touched it. His little mermaid was real. If she was real, then he could find her. He smiled. Suddenly the day was looking better. Perhaps he would not shoot Smee after all. He hummed a drinking song, and readied himself for the day.


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: Sadly, I do not own the dear Captain James Hook, however, the (very fortunate) mermaid is my creation.**

* * *

The woman leaned against him in the dark. Hook's mermaid was quiet now. His right hand stroked her hair while her head rested on his chest. They sat on an outcrop of flat rock that jutted out over the water in the cove. The man leaned back against a larger boulder, and the woman nestled into his lap. A light breeze stirred their hair, and the soft, rhythmic sound of the water lapping against the beach was muted. She shivered in the cool night air, and he pulled his cloak closer around them.

Earlier that evening, as the stars began to peep through the sky, Hook had strode across the beach towards her dark shape, standing at the edge of the shore, with every intention of flinging her over his shoulder, walking to the protected shelter of the woods at the edge of the beach, and ravishing her in proper pirate fashion. But when his mermaid turned and flung herself into his arms, and he caught the glistening of moonlight on the trail of tears on her cheek, he could only gather her close. The pirate had fled in fear of the womanly outpouring of emotion, yet the man had remained to comfort her. James had picked her up and carried her to the safety of the outcrop. Now the deepening night found them sitting, entwined, in the moonlight.

Hesitantly, Hook cleared his throat. Why did she make him feel so unsure of himself and so worried for another? The feeling was alien to him at this point in his life, and one that he had not felt in decades, if at all. Normally, in another, he would call it a weakness, but now he could not fully admit that it was. "Why the tears, my Maddie?" He asked roughly, instantly chiding himself for being an uncouth brute. Most of his life was spent with men, who were just as rough and brash as he, thus, he had no need to be gentle with words or express feelings other than anger, impatience, and pride. The pirate wielded false charm as expertly as his fencing foil, but he expressed genuine concern as awkwardly as a new sailor on deck in a storm.

The woman sighed, and he felt her breath tease the exposed skin on his chest. A hand rested on his arm above his hook casing. He felt her fingers through the fine silk of his shirt. "I didn't think you were ever coming back. I've been here every night for two months, but I couldn't find you. I'd just finished promising myself, again, that tonight was the last night I would wait for you."

"Two months? But 'tis only been- "He stopped short and tried to think. Damn Pan and his warping of time. "- a few days at most..." He whispered. Hook fell quiet and leaned his head down to the top of hers. He inhaled the scent of her hair. Tentatively, he asked, "How long has it been since we first met in your time?"

She was quiet, and then said, "A year ... year and a half, but the meetings have been closer together lately, which, when you didn't appear, I became...worried." She shifted in his arms and he pulled her closer. "How long in yours?"

He felt her fingers fiddle with the ruffle of his sleeve. The man frowned and thought. "Months only. I am sure of it, yet, time is warped and twisted where I am. 'Tis hard to know the calendar there. And I do not dream of you every night." Hook heard her inhale to make some remark, a sharply cutting one he suspected (the man had no false illusions, he was a pirate, not some fool romantic, his mermaid's tongue could be as wicked and harsh as his hook), before she could say anything, his sense of self-preservation took over, and he added, "Not that I do not wish to dream of thee every night, my lady. But sometimes-"

"The Boy, he worries you, and the monster, too?" She interjected softly. Her fingers gently rubbed his arm above his hook and elbow.

It soothed him. The pain receded farther when she touched him. He paused for a moment or two to enjoy the sensation of her fingers against his arm. He closed his eyes, and leaned his cheek against her head.

Then lifting his head, he snorted dismissively. "Worry? About the flying brat? I think not! And the beast attempts to be the death of me! Thank Lucifer the monster swallowed that clock so that I can have fair warning of his approach. No, I plot to escape from that wretched place, but now I also scheme to find you, mermaid." He moved his head so that he could see her face, and she turned upwards to stare at him. His hand involuntarily gripped her hip harder than it had a moment prior, and she shifted uncomfortably in the strong, painful grip. Hook's entire being tensed at what he knew he would have to admit. The pirate's skill at false charm fled.

"To find me?" She asked, stunned. "You would look for me? Why?"

He scrutinized the look in her eyes, fearing rejection, instead finding only confusion and a guarded look he did not recognize.

He refused to answer her immediately. Instead, covering his hurt, bristling, he retreated to his native speech for a moment, and he shot back with, "Why didst thou continue to return to this beach for two months, if thou believed I had abandoned thee?"

She was quiet, and then the woman shrugged. "Of course, I would. I hoped... I don't know. I...err...just did. That's all." She said it so off-handedly, so deliberately, so nonchalantly, that the pirate realized she, too, was keeping her cards close to her chest.

He took a moment and reminded himself that he was the most feared pirate on the Seven Seas. He changed his tack. No crude frontal assault could be used in this battle. Hook feared no one or anything, except for that beast and...to his shame...being alone and unloved. The first he would defeat at some future time and place, of that he had no doubt. The other - the fear - well, that was within in his ability to conquer as well, as long as he could keep his wits about him and not drive her away with his pride. The pirate lifted his arm and gently touched her chin with his hook. "Wouldst thou like to be a pirate with me? Be my pirate lady?"

The woman smiled and her hand caught his arm, avoiding the question, she said teasingly, "Pirate, I bet you ask all of your ladies that question." His gaze became closed, his chin lifted, and he looked down his nose at her. She looked more deeply into his eyes when he said nothing and dropped his hook.

At the pained look on the man's face, she whispered, "But I thought you had ladies in every port. Isn't that what pirates do in addition to pillaging, looting, fighting, killing...whoring...errm...chasing skirts? No?"

He was silent. His eyes told her the answer.

"Really, I am your only one, your only woman?" She paused. "Oh."

He chose silence as his answer and remained still, as he did not know how to answer her. At one point in his life, to demonstrate how little a woman's words affected him, the pirate would have boasted of his sexual prowess and how the wenches swooned at his feet. For a fleeting moment, he almost instinctively uttered a scathing, nasty remark, deliberately designed to verbally skewer her and to make her retreat in fear. But, with the weight of Neverland on his shoulders, continual pain, never-ending loneliness, and the taunting by the boy that cut deeper than he wanted to admit, he couldn't say the off-the-cuff, shallow lie that he wanted to say. Instead he watched her with fear of rejection in his heart. The inner pirate turned away in disgust, yet the man wanted to know her reason.

Hook decided he did not want to see her face, her eyes, when she told him that he was nothing more than a plaything. Why did he care? She was nothing, just a female, a mere toy. Why was the knot of anticipated fear strong in his heart? He looked away over the cove, breaking their gaze and refusing to look at her. The man breathed out sharply, dismissively, and spoke harshly, rather more cruelly than he felt, "So. I see. Dost thou have a man called Husband then in your real life? Are you like Pan then, simply looking for casual play? I am simply nothing more than a night-time diversion, a crippled oddity, a freak with whom to toy, a dream-"

The woman cut him off with a firm reassurance, and she said simply, "No, pirate, there is no husband in my life. You are my only man."

Hook's heart soared then, like a gull riding the air currents over the ocean. He was her only man. He whispered that phrase again in his mind. There was no man called Husband. There was only a man called Hook. The inner pirate swaggered out again.

Turning his head back to her, he cleared his throat and whispered hoarsely, "Good, then, 'tis settled. You shall be my pirate queen. We shall be glorious together, and rule the waves." Then the pirate plucked her strange hair ornament out of her hair, which impeded his hand, and negligently tossed it over the edge of the rock. He ran his fingers through her hair, feeling its weight and softness. His inner eye saw her face turned to the sun, her hair flowing, her silk skirts billowing in the wind as they sailed over open water. His racing heart calmed.

The woman shifted her weight and her other hand, the arm nearest his heart, moved up and around his neck. She caught him at the back of his head and pulled him to her lips. He opened his lips as she kissed him. She turned, awkwardly, while trying to keep the kiss and straddle him at the same time. Tangling in the cloak, she started to laugh against his lips. Hook laughed, too, at the sound of hers. It was a true one, rarely heard, and rusty, certainly no pirate of his ever heard it. They broke apart, regained their composure, and then, becoming serious, she straddled his hips, settling against his lap. He pulled the cloak around them again to protect her from the night air.

She put her hands to either side of his head and pushed his hair back away from his face. His golden hoop earrings glinted in the moonlight. She stared down into his light eyes, which reflected the moon. Her fingers swept across his eyebrows, and then charted a course over his cheekbones. She ran her thumb gently over his lower lip.

Hook moved to bite her finger, but she was quicker. Her hands tangled themselves into his hair, and then his mermaid looked at him and smiled, rather wickedly he thought.

"My pirate." she stated boldly. "Mine." Hook's eyes flashed red for a second as a surge of emotion leapt through him. Untouched by fear at the sight, she claimed his lips then and he eagerly surrendered.

As the couple kissed, the woman's hands pulled at his shirt and tugged it out of his waistband. She slid her hands under the silk and ran them up his chest, pulling him towards her. As he leaned forward into the kiss, her hands moved to his back, feeling the taut skin, the hard muscles. He groaned into her mouth. His hand, which now splayed against the base of her neck and her exposed shoulder from her camisole, moved downwards. Her skin was smooth against his. She gasped against his mouth, and his hook anchored her at her back. She pulled back, and breaking the kiss, she settled against his hand. He felt her touch against his back.

She looked at him. He nodded, and she smiled, shyly, this time. Her eyelashes covered her dark eyes as she looked down and then back up, her gaze holding his. She shifted back and then moved her hands to the front of his breeches. He watched her as she looked down and tried to undo the buttons of his drop-front.

In frustration, she swore, using words no proper lady should utter, and muttered, "How many of these are on here?" He chuckled at his modern woman, strangely pleased to hear her swear in a proper pirate manner, and moved his hand. He was happy to see that she frowned at his absence. The man moved his hand to the placket of his breeches.

"Stop. I'll show you, impatient minx." He closed his fingers around hers. She stilled, and then watched as he showed her all of the buttons.

"Mine is much easier." She said, matter-of-factly. He chuckled again, as Maddie leaned forward to kiss him.

"Oh, yes, my lady, 'tis much simpler." He murmured against her mouth.

Impatient, the pirate sliced off her camisole, and discarded it. He slid his fingers over her smooth skin from the base of her throat through the valley of her breasts to the top of the waistband of her strange, soft trousers. He tried to steady his breathing, but failed. Distracted by the sight of her, he didn't notice when she reached down and grasped him.

Hook inhaled sharply. It had been too long.

* * *

The setting moon guarded the two exhausted lovers as they lay entwined on the captain's cloak. Hook held her against him, his good hand tangled in her soft hair, absently rubbing her head. The woman's hand gently held his wrist in hers. Her fingers gently played across his scarred wrist. He attempted to pull it away from her, but her fingers closed around his arm. She pulled it towards her and pressed her lips against it. He growled softly in embarrassment at her attention to the obvious lack of his hand, but was oddly reassured by her acceptance. The man could feel her breath on his chest. His hook lay discarded on the rock beside them. He hadn't wanted to hurt her, and besides the scraping sound of the metal on the limestone had been harsh and abrasive. And, to be honest, he had not wanted her to feel the harness against her skin, at least not for their first time together. It had been uncomfortable enough on the rock. The woman shifted against his side and he pulled her closer, if that was even possible. She pulled his wrist towards her so he embraced her with both arms.

"Dawn comes soon enough, mermaid. Don't fall asleep." The man said softly. His hand slid down her spine and rested on the curve of her naked hip.

There was no answer. He wondered if she had fallen asleep, then he heard a sad whisper, "Too soon."


	3. Chapter 3

**Barrie's Hook stubbornly refuses to become mine (alas, no matter how much I beg him!), but Maddie is. This scene in the 2003 movie is the one that inspired the Cove of the Moon. I realize that the "real" 2003 Hook was probably more worried about his tea-time, and perhaps his hair, than anything else while filming it. Please forgive the artistic license for this one chapter.**

* * *

Hook stood up from the boulder on which he had been sitting while on the beach, remembering, thinking, and planning. The pirate scowled. He had to find Pan in order to put an end to this imprisonment. It was unbearable. Quite simply, he needed to sail, he needed to be a pirate, and he needed her. Their moments of solitude, pleasure, and loving were too few for his liking. If he could find her, he would take her, but there was the rub, his mermaid was nowhere to be found. He picked up his lantern, turned and strode to the forest's edge.

The pirate walked through the dark vegetation, listening to the sounds of the night animals. Small angry monkeys chattered at him for disturbing their nighttime rituals with the soft glow of the light, and he dodged not a few small missiles thrown with unerring practiced accuracy by the beasts. The tropical climate was damp, but not unbearable. It was always the perfect temperature when Pan was in residence, but the moisture that fed the trees caused his dark ringlets to cling together and hang in heavy curls. He had left his coat at the small boat beached on the shore and wore only his embroidered waistcoat open over his silk shirt. He was alone, a rarity in some ways. Raw emotion was naked on his face as he continued his introspection.

Hook was angry with himself, Smee, his crew, the wretched children, the crocodile, but most of all at Pan, the bane of his existence. In reality, however, he did not know at whom he was most angry. Perhaps it was because he allowed himself to get into a position where he was trapped here in this cursed paradise. The man held the lantern out in front of him to see where he was walking, all the while inwardly damning his situation.

The plan had gone horribly awry at the Black Castle. Hook had been the most feared pirate in the Otherworld. In Neverland, however, it felt as if one calamity after another happened to him. At times, he felt as if his crew acted out one of The Bard's farces, and that they would do better to tread the boards at the Globe than remain pirates. _Certainly they would earn more_, he thought in annoyance.

The pirate captain had finally returned to Jolly Roger, which took hours between waiting for the crocodile to get bored of its game and his incompetent crew. Hook had stayed his hand from killing Smee, but the other two idiots he ordered keelhauled. He followed that punishment with a swift gutting in front of all and then ordered their bodies tossed overboard. His hook demonstrated its displeasure to the ship's company. He knew that if he had stayed on board, he would have killed his entire crew in short order. He couldn't afford to do that, as pirates were hard to come by in this world, thus, he took himself away for precious moments of a solitary nature.

Instead, Hook had slept on the beach for a few minutes in an attempt to restore his humours. And he had hoped that he would see her, his mermaid. He found himself needing her strength, so different from his, and her practical mind, and then the pirate frowned as that alien thought passed through his mind. Alas, even she had abandoned him on this horrible night. The moon threw light on the cove and the calm waters, but his woman had been absent. Now, as he walked through the forest, his heart ached. The pirate refused to acknowledge what the cause of the ache could be. The man's mind skittered around the thought, the word, the feeling: _love_. For a moment, he desperately wanted to be like Pan, unable to feel, unable to love. Love caused pain and heartache. All knew, yet all desired it. He silently wondered if all adults were secretly daft and should be instantaneously directed towards Bedlam when the onset of such feelings occurred. The man wanted to take his hook, pluck the offending object out of his chest and throw it to the cursed beast. He sighed.

Hook saw small darting lights in the distance, fairy lights. The pirate had a fleeting moment of glee at the idea of killing off some fairies, but, just as quickly, changed his mind as even that game disheartened him this evening. He was in a strange mood, and all of his normal delights, such as killing, maiming, torturing, seemed to have lost their sheen.

Then the man saw them. The wretched boy and a girl were dancing in the treetops. He stopped short. Loneliness, the desire to be with his mermaid, and to hold her in his arms, overwhelmed him. _From whence did this girl come? How unfair, a Boy, who cannot feel love, courts a mere Girl in play, while Hook, a Man, cannot find his Love to share his life_. Anger and bitterness overwhelmed him and dripped like venom onto the floor of the jungle. The pirate would not have been surprised to see the lush vegetation and large, parasol-sized leaves sizzle and curl up, brown and dead, where he stood. And then, just as swiftly, as if a winter squall blew over him, he was overcome with desperate longing and sadness. The man had a vision of his mermaid dressed in finery as he held her in his arms in a dance such as theirs. His heart swelled and then broke.

"Oh, evil day," he whispered.

He staggered a moment, feeling weak, jealous and desolate. Pan's continual taunt, "_old, alone, and done for_," echoed through his mind. The pirate tried to keep the vision of his mermaid in his mind's eye, but the effort was too great. The carefully hoarded newborn feeling of happiness, which only Maddie brought to him, was overpowered by the ingrained and much older, and rather comfortable, feelings of bitterness and malice. She was a great distance from him in both time and space, and the flying bastard was in front of him. The bastard won.

Hook slowly sat on a fallen tree, and clutched at his chest. He sighed, feeling bereft. He whispered, "He found himself a..."

Out of the corner of his eye, he spied a flicker of fairy light, and Hook turned. It was Pan's fairy, Tinkerbell, the devious winged bitch. From pure reflex, he almost uttered, "I don't believe in fairies," but something stopped him from saying it and flicking her cold, dead body to the ground. The man felt...tired, exhausted really, and he wanted love at that moment, not killing. He knew what he wanted. The man wanted to bury his face in his woman's hair, embrace her, inhale her scent, and not let her go for anything, flying boys, ticking crocodiles, irritating fairies, or bumbling sailors. Instead, he was subjected to the scene of Pan and the girl. His hatred for the flying brat bubbled upwards. First Pan trapped Hook in Neverland, then the insolent boy stole his hand, and now he robbed the pirate of Love.

The fairy was nattering on endlessly about something. Normally she tormented the pirate, but tonight she was different. Tink was unhappy, wretchedly so. Hook watched her as she tinkled and jingled in her fairy speak. Her wings sagged sadly. He almost felt bad for her, almost as if she was a comrade at arms in her desolation. Almost. She was talking about a girl. He caught a name. He scowled.

The man carefully listened to the rapid-fire fairy patter. She really was quite upset. "...A Wendy?" Hook sighed, his thoughts flicked to his mermaid. The ache was palpable in his heart, and equaled the pain in his wrist. He looked up and whispered sadly, "And Hook is all alone." The fairy would simply not stop complaining. This was not the female companionship for which he had been aching. Irritated and lonely, he looked back at her, for the second time in several minutes about to say the phrase that was deadly to fairies. But something in him stayed his tongue, and, for a moment, allowed him to feel empathy, perhaps it was because Pan so casually discarded living beings as if they were broken toys.

"You too? Banished?" He tsked, and said, rather offhandedly, "The dog."

The pirate captain looked back up and his anger roiled up from his gut where it had been churning like an angry sea. He felt the desire to hurt Pan as the boy had done unknowingly to him. He wanted to gut Pan. His anger at losing his chance at the Black Castle started to overwhelm him. If Hook could not have his mermaid with him in Neverland, then Pan would not have his Wendy. The boy and his toy must die. It was really that simple, and here was the perfect abandoned tool for him to use against the nuisance.

He turned back to the fairy, gently scooped her up with his hook, and whispered conspiratorially, "I think that you and I...should talk."

The fairy, ignorant to the sudden glint of anger and evil malice in the pirate's eyes, told him everything about the girl and her brothers in a waterfall of information. London? For a moment his mind wandered to place his Mermaid's accent. No, it was not London, 'twas a city in the New World, the Colonies. He dragged his mind back to the agitated fairy. She knew where Pan's girl lived. She helped to bring this stranger here from the Otherworld. Perhaps? If one female could travel to Neverland, so could another. If Hook could not go to his mermaid, then she must come to him. He put on his most charming look, the one he used so long ago in the ballrooms and drawing rooms of London and Oxford when women flocked around him, twittering and chirping as if they were small birds...or fairies, and gently coerced the information out of the miniature female. He whispered, "If I do this for you, beauty, then you must do something for me. Agreed?" The fairy tinkled in response.

* * *

Hook's eyes flashed red. He collapsed against the woman and pressed his head into her neck. "Mermaid." He gasped. "Love."

She slid her hands up his muscled back, across his leather harness, and curled her arms around him, "Mmmmm...*_my_* pirate love." The woman nuzzled his neck, inhaling his scent, while he kissed her bare shoulder.

Later he pulled his hook out of the driftwood log that was behind her, and slid the appendage gently against her hair. Leaning on his right elbow, the man looked down at the woman. Her eyes were heavy lidded and he felt her foot slide up his calf. The man gently traced the line of her neck to her shoulder with his hook. "Mermaid, you and I must talk. I have a plan. We shall be together at last. Wouldst thou like to hear it?"

His mermaid smiled. He thought that she looked like a contented cat lying in the sun. She nodded. "Tell me." Hook felt her hand push his hair away from his cheek and her thumb ran across his cheekbone. He turned his face and kissed her palm.

"Do you believe in fairies, my Maddie?" he whispered, sounding strangely boyish as he watched his hook move across her creamy skin. Her fingers trailed across his jawline and then slid lightly down his neck to his chest. For a moment she was silent while she splayed her fingers across his chest, feeling his beating heart under his warm skin.

She chuckled and looked into his forget-me-not-blue eyes, "Really, James, fairies? You don't-" and he softly placed his hook against her lips, cutting off her words.

"Really, my sweet, fairies. 'Tis not as ridiculous as it sounds, mermaid."

Hook scooped her against him and rolled to his back. His hand propped his head up. The woman lay against his chest with her head resting on her fists. Her brown eyes looked into his blue ones. Her thigh was flung over his. She felt the pirate's hook gently slide up and down her spine, and shivered at the sensation. Eyes glinting, he smiled wickedly, and, as she cuddled against him, whispered how he would finish Pan once and how they would be together in Neverland.


	4. Chapter 4

**I apologize for the wait, but Real Life has to be attended to as well as life in Neverland. Alas, our dear Captain does not belong to me, but to Mr. Barrie. Maddie, however, is my lucky lady. Happy Reading!**

* * *

**"**_**For the intense yearning which each of them has towards the other does not appear to be the desire of lover's intercourse, but of something else which the soul of either evidently desires and cannot tell, and of which she [Aphrodite] has only a dark and doubtful presentiment." Aristophanes, Plato's Symposium**_

The Jolly Roger rocked in time to the motion of the waves in the bay. The pirate captain lay on his bed and his booted feet hung over its edge. He wore only his breeches and his banyan. He had removed his hook because his wrist pained him.

A discarded book sat next to him, face down and spread open, the golden letter on the spine stating, _The Symposium_. The book was well worn and well read. The man had been in a philosophical frame of mind after his evening meal, and found himself visiting old friends. But upon reading Aristophanes' comments about love, Hook found himself inwardly ruminating while on the edge of sleep.

Hook tried to think of how they first met. For a long time he'd dreamt only of the cove and its peace. He'd been annoyed by her intrusion. Walking towards the figure, he had thought of all the ways he would scare the unknown intruder away from his sanctuary. But then the woman turned and smiled at him, watching him with those eyes, which always reminded him of the finest whiskey when at rest, and melted chocolate when in the throes of passion. Then she bluntly stated, "You're here. You've finally come." And there she was - like a mermaid from the sea.

She'd evidenced no fear of the pirate, but then he supposed he came to her as a man, tired, lonely, and desperate for company that was not male. Hook had not come as conqueror or scoundrel. Her laugh had made him shiver in anticipation and caused him to wonder what she would sound like in the course of passion. He smiled lazily, thinking of their ardor. Oh yes, he knew now her sounds whilst in his arms. He hummed in a rare moment of true happiness, as he lay remembering their latest moments of passion, the feel of her soft warm skin under his calloused fingers, her warm breath against his skin, and how it changed and grew increasingly unsteady as he explored her. And with those final thoughts, his eyes grew heavy, and he slept.

He dreamed again.

* * *

He stood, but not in the cove. He was confused. He did not know where he was. It was not Neverland, but it was a city that much was clear. It was vast, the size of the buildings was awe inspiring, and the space teemed with people, all of whom were in strange dress. Great edifices of stone, concrete and glass towered towards the sky, and some seemed to actually scrape against the edges of the clouds. He wryly thought to himself, "James, thou art no longer in Neverland. Tread carefully."

Hook looked around and saw the glint of gold, silver and jewels in a window. Curious, the pirate moved towards the tempting items. As he stood there looking at the collection of jeweled things and mentally calculating their disappointingly small worth, he felt someone bump into him. A soft and exasperated female voice uttered an abrupt apology and then grew silent, as he looked down into her eyes. They were brown, like his mermaid's eyes, and her hair was dark. For a brief moment, he thought he'd found her. And out of his mouth popped, unintended, a soft, "Maddie? My love?" The strange woman, broken out of her reverie at the handsome man standing in front of her, blatantly recoiled and gasped at the sight of his scarred wrist as he unconsciously brought it up to smooth her hair away from her face. Hook realized that the woman was not his. The moment was broken, and seeing the look of pity on her face, Hook reacted instinctively.

Embarrassment tinged with anger washed over him, he scowled and then sneered. Hook brandished his damaged and ugly wrist at her, then reaching out with the offending object, and pushed the woman out of the way. At the same time the pirate scowled at the pain he caused to himself. Feeling out of sorts, he uttered a cruel, "Get out of my way, witless whore, and watch where thou goest. Art thou blind as well as stupid?" The woman gasped at the insult, and opened her mouth to protest, but his eyes flashed red, and she fled. The pirate immediately felt better and slightly more in control of himself, even as he attempted to ignore the thumping pain in his wrist. He straightened his shoulders and, as he inhaled deeply to center himself, he lifted his head.

He stood looking around him, attempting to capture his bearings. He was sure it was not London, as the rhythm did not feel right. He thought, perhaps, that he was somewhere in the New World. He wondered, hoped, that he was in his mermaid's city. If it was night he would have had the stars to help him, but it was day, and the sun was out. The large buildings and the clouds confused and overwhelmed him. The glare of the bright light reflecting off the glass, which seemed to be everywhere, blinded him. For the first time, he felt lost and helpless.

Hook scowled again in irritation and anger. He tried to calm his racing heart and take stock of the situation. But the constant movement of people and things, as well as the cacophony of sound was overpowering. No wonder his mermaid escaped to the cove when she dreamed. And there were horseless carriages everywhere that made loud noises and belched noxious fumes. It was overwhelming after the quiet of Neverland. He wanted to press his hand and hook against his ears to keep out the din. What had she called them? Cars, he recalled. Exhaling sharply, he looked around to see where he should go.

"Lucifer, where in Hades am I?" he whispered, while looking all around him.

He made sure he followed a group of people when they crossed the street, as it would not do to get hit by one of those metal monsters. When finally safe on the opposite side of the street, he turned, inspecting the sights. For a second moment he was seized in wonder at the modern world, and then light flashed off yet another shiny surface, and his eye was drawn towards a window.

Hook saw her. His woman was behind a large glass window, seated at a table, a book in front of her and a cup. She toyed with the handle of the ceramic mug absently, while she read, and then she moved, looking outward from her seat inside. He saw her frown as she watched the outside hustle and bustle. The man's heart leapt as a dolphin jumped out of the sea. He'd found her. For a moment, he could not identify the feeling that coursed through his body. It was alien to him, except that it wasn't anger or hate, nor was it even carnal.

The sensation was ... joy, sheer unfettered happiness. But then his joy became tempered with doubt. What if she saw him here and ignored him? What if she found him lacking in comparison to this strange new world and to the whole men who hurried around the broken pirate as he stood on the sidewalk? For a moment, the man wanted to run, but the pirate made him stand his ground. Hook inhaled deeply, tilted his head back slightly, looked down his nose, and then moved forward as if he was the captain of this awe-inspiring city, pushing people out of the way, and dismissing their complaints.

* * *

Maddie sat in the cafe at a table next to the window. She felt restless as if something important was going to happen, but she knew that feeling was always false. Nothing ever happened to her. The feeling simply meant that she wanted an adventure, however, she knew she was destined to remain disappointed. Only in her dreams did she travel, find adventure and love. She sighed.

She wished again that James was with her, as she did every day at least once an hour. She blushed as she remembered their last meetings - dreams - she corrected herself firmly. They were simply dreams, figments of her imagination running wildly amok. She was not losing her mind. They simply were not real. They could not be. Her lover was neither a pirate nor was he plotting to steal her away. He did not exist, she reminded herself ruthlessly. A small interior voice reminded her that he was certain that he was real. The woman frowned as she attempted to ignore the small, weak voice. They were just dreams, no matter how sensuous, how vibrant. The woman sighed sadly.

Her finger rubbed against another inexplicable, illogical love bite, which had appeared at the intersection of her neck and shoulder that morning. Even now she could feel his hand and his hook sliding against her skin, and his heavy, reassuring weight on top of her, moving in tandem with her, and the warm feeling of his skin and muscles under her fingers. His hair created a haven of intimacy as they kissed and whispered to each other with the sound of the surf in the background. She felt the gentle ghost touch of his warm, soft lips against her neck, as his scent of ocean, spice, and tobacco swept over her. She looked around, becoming flushed and then embarrassed, as if the people sitting around her could read her erotic thoughts about her ghostly lover by simply staring at her. The bittersweet memory of their meetings - dreams, she corrected herself once again - caused her heart to ache for something that was not real. She closed her eyes for a moment while she attempted to regain control of her rampaging thoughts, but all she could think of was the pirate. Perhaps she was losing her mind, maybe she had a tumor, she thought idly. Then in the fine tradition of movie parody, she muttered to herself in a heavy Austrian accent, "_It's not a tu-mah, you're just crazy."_

She absently toyed with the corner of the book, and then looked up and out of the window. She felt it again, the feeling as if something, anything, monumental was going to happen. Then Maddie saw a man on the sidewalk. Discord seemed to roil around him as he rudely pushed through the crowd of people as he strode towards the cafe. For brief moment, her heart stopped. She knew without a doubt it was James, her pirate. Not a dream. Not her imagination. Real. Here. Her heart jumped, leapt, and gamboled happily about her chest. He was here...with her. Her pirate had come for his woman.

She pushed her chair back as he moved towards the window, ready to run straight to him and into his arms. Maddie's heart started to beat hard, and her breathing became fast and shallow. Her hands shook, and she gripped the edge of the table in some feeble attempt to compose herself.

He stopped on the other side of the glass and looked at her through the window. His haughty, pirate mask fell away, and the emotions on Hook's face were stark and terrible, and she could read him true. Fear, uncertainty, and cautious hope were all there, splashed across his face. His blue eyes were big in his face, and his hair was disheveled. He was dressed in his black breeches and his tall boots, yet he was shirtless, and instead wore his red, embroidered banyan. A heavy gold chain glinted on his chest, and there was a metallic glitter under the heavy curls by his ears. Even in this state of undress, he looked every inch the pirate, yet most telling of the unexpected visit was that his wrist was bare. He was totally and completely vulnerable. He tentatively put his open hand on the window in front of her. His eyes questioned her, invited her.

She carefully put her hand against the glass, her palm opposite his. They both looked at their hands and then back to each other. "Pirate?" She mouthed.

He nodded. "Mermaid, come to me." He commanded in a whisper, even though he knew she could not hear him.

She laughed. She couldn't help it, the joy bubbled out of her. Then dropping her hand, the woman jerked her head in an affirmative, and jumped up. Smiling inanely, she grabbed her bag. And as she dashed out of the cafe, abandoning her book and drink, she banged against the table in her hurry to leave and the cup slid to the floor, shattering in her wake. She ran to the spot where he stood, and as he turned to her, and stretched out his wrist to embrace her, to capture her, he started to fade. For a brief second she felt his scarred skin and damaged bone gently brush against her wrist and fingertips, and then he was gone as she reached out to take his arm. The whisper, "_Soon, my mermaid, my Maddie_," hung in the air.

Maddie stood on the sidewalk, confused, and unsure of what she just experienced. Her happiness fled. She felt as if a storm was rushing towards her, and swells of desperate emotion crashed against her heart. Her eyes filled with tears, and her entire body drooped. The woman's head hung, and then she saw it, a flash of golden glitter on the ground.

She bent and touched it, the pirate's gold earring. It was one she knew well, as well as she knew the curve of his ear, the softness of his skin, and the smell of his hair. The two cords of granulation ran around the hoop, and there were strands of curly black hair wrapped around the piece of jewelry. She clutched it in her hand. And then she noticed that her bracelet, a fine chain of silver, was missing. The dream was real. He was coming for her. She bit back a joyous sob, and then broke out into a smile. "James, my pirate. You're real" she whispered as people moved and flowed around her on the sidewalk.

* * *

Hook sat up in bed, gasping for air. He had found her, seen her, and felt her. She had come to him. Or did he go to her? What happened? How did that happen? He looked around his cabin, and everything was exactly the same. He breathed out sharply and then looked down at his wrist. She'd touched him. He had reached out to grab him to her, to capture her and to bring her back with him and he had used the wrong arm. Some pirate Hook was, he was more useless than Noodler, at least the bumbling idiot had both of his hands, even if they were on backwards. Hook sighed. She was lost to him. His despair felt as if it would suffocate him. He reached up to move an errant curl away from his face.

Dropping his hand, he turned to slide out of bed. Something glinted in the bedclothes. He reached out to inspect it, and found a silver chain. Hook knew this chain. The pirate captain gently ran his wrist over it. He had toyed with this bracelet, placed kisses next to it, and had seen it glint in the moonlight. The dream was no longer simply a dream. He was able to breech her world. He smiled crookedly and then chuckled to himself. "Soon, my mermaid, my Maddie," he whispered. He stood and strode across his cabin to get dressed. Clutching the chain in his hand, he reveled in the tangible connection with her. As he completed his dressing ritual, and was straightening his collar, he realized that he was missing an earring and smiled to himself. Instinctively, he knew where it had gone.

He heard a tinkling buzz around him, and then a silk burgundy and gold scarf dropped to the floor. He looked around and saw the fairy fluttering weakly.

"Ah, little one, what is this?" he asked softly, as he bent to pick up the length of cloth. It would not do to scare the fairy. He was not yet done with her, no matter how much he yearned to say those five little deadly words that would banish Pan's companion from Neverland forever.

The fairy wearily sat on a cork and twittered away. He arched his brow and impatiently waited while she jingled and glittered. _Hellfire and brimstone, the tiny chit has a big mouth for such a tiny body, _he thought as he tapped his hook against the desk while she finished her explanation. Finally, she paused, and he said with rough impatience, "Yes, yes...You found the Otherworld woman easily then?" He paused "Excellent."

He lifted the scarf to his nose and inhaled while thinking. The plan would work, Hook was sure of it. His woman's scent enveloped him. His fingers tightened on the cloth. He tried to compose his thoughts. It would not do to show his hand to the flying wench. The fairy had found his mermaid. This meant that Maddie could be brought to Neverland, just as her chain had followed him, and his earring remained in the Otherworld. He thought quickly.

"Well, my dear, 'tis a bit of pirate's luck that you've had. Now comes the second part. Send one of your fairy friends to bring her to me." The pirate captain dropped his hand and leaned down. His black hair swung forward as he moved his face close to the fairy. He growled dangerously, "And let me make myself clear I want her unharmed, unhurt, and carefully escorted. If I find that so much as a hair on her head has been damaged, I shall not fulfill my end of the bargain, and there shall be many dead fairies. Dost thou understand me?"

Tink fearfully nodded and jingled.

"Well then, my dear, whatever are you waiting for? Come back as soon as you send your friend off. We have much to discuss, and you have an expedition of pirates to lead tomorrow night." Hook said dismissively, as he carefully tied the scarf around the middle as his sash. He wanted his mermaid with him, even if it was only in spirit.

* * *

Night found Maddie curled on her couch with the TV softly murmuring in the background. Missing him, she played with her pirate's earring. Overwhelmed by the earlier events of the day, she drifted off to sleep, clutching the gold in her hand.

The woman found herself at the edge of the sea at the cove waiting for him. The moonlight reflected off of the water, and she was alone. Maddie had a sudden fear that he wouldn't be able to come. What if the venture into her world damaged the unknown magic? What if she never saw him again? The longer she fretted, the more irrationally annoyed she became. How dare he tell her ... the truth! He was real! And she wasn't insane. This really was magic. And ... she really could be with him! Her confusion overwhelmed her, and she knew instinctively that she was ready to be irrational for absolutely no reason, except perhaps that he was a man, and, therefore, doomed to vex her. The calm, familiar, reassuring sounds of the cove did nothing to soothe her, if anything they made her more anxious.

The woman turned her head slightly when she heard the familiar steps on the rocks. For a moment, the sound ceased, as Hook stopped mid-stride and stared at his mermaid, remembering the first time he saw her. Then, moving forward, he made his way to the woman.

She felt his arm slide around her waist and his hook push her hair away from her neck. The woman inhaled his scent - spice, sea, and tobacco. His warm, soft lips gently kissed her on the neck under her ear, right on the spot that he knew she loved best. His hand, dipping under her camisole, splayed possessively over her belly as he pulled her up against his front.

He whispered, "My mermaid, thank Lucifer, you are here. I beg your pardon that I was unable to rescue you from that noisy, busy world-"

She pushed his hand off her belly, and then turned, while backing up a step. The irrational annoyance flared up again. Now that she knew he was real, fear washed over her that she would lose him. He watched warily as she looked him up and down.

"You're real. And you're a pirate" she said bluntly, standing in front of the pirate. The woman's arms were crossed and a slight frown marred her features. The moon in the Cove watched the lovers as they stood, unsure of their next steps.

The pirate arched his eyebrow at her and smiled. "Of course I am, my love. Why didst though believe otherwise? I told thee that Neverland holds great magic. 'Tis part of the riddle of its being, _my_ mermaid." As he emphasized the 'my', he reached out and gently touched the fading love bite at the base of her throat with his hook. "Why dost thou think I mark you? 'Tis to remind thee of me while we are apart." Then his eyes darkened, and he said a little bit more harshly, "And to tell any scurvy wretch that sees thee whilst I am not at thy side that thou art mine. Pirates mark their own. And I am a pirate, in fact, I am _the_ best of pirates."

He leaned forward and his breath ghosted over her neck as he kissed it, then the man whispered in her ear, "And I rather thought that was why thou hast marked me. Is it not? Thou dost have the heart of the most fearsome pirate, thus, I thought thou marked me for all wenches to see, warning them to keep away." The arm with his hook snaked around her waist and pulled her close to him, for a brief moment biting into the soft skin just above her hip. She resisted, and then as her brief annoyance at the man faded, she moved into his arms willingly. He felt her nod, and then felt her hands clutch at his back and harness through the fine silk shirt.

"And you're really the true Captain James Hook of the Jolly Roger?" she asked, whispering in his ear, sounding unsure.

Hook said firmly but softly, "Aye, Miss Maddie Burnett of the city of New York, that I am, but I never told you otherwise. I've always told you the truth." His fingers roamed down her spine and splayed against her upper back. And then leaning back so that he could see her face, he gently touched her lower lip. Placing his finger under her chin, he tilted her head upwards, and kissed her.

When the couple pulled apart, he watched her carefully and then he spoke warily, and tenderly touched her cheek, "So, my lady, the question begs to be asked, mermaid. Dost thou want to be together with me like this forever? Or dost thou prefer to find ourselves at the whim of the strange magic of the cove, a magic that we cannot entirely control, for the rest of our lives?"

He hesitated for a moment. He suddenly found himself reluctant to say the next words. "If you come with me, we shall be together forever. If you do not, we may find ourselves separated by the whim of Neverland. This is your last chance to say 'nay' to the plan, my lady." Hook tensed slightly as he finished his statement, and then forcibly relaxing, he cupped her cheek with his palm.

The woman closed her eyes, turning her face into his palm, and was quiet. For moment his heartbeat was so loud in the quiet night, he feared he heard the crocodile creeping up on them.

Maddie opened her eyes and looked up at him. She found him staring at her with that terrible lost look from earlier in the day. She whispered, "I don't want to depend on the cove. I...I want to be with you."

He nodded and waited patiently to see what she would say next.

Then she said more loudly, and rather more bravely than she felt, "So, James, what do we do now?"

He smiled and then slid his hand to her shoulder, toying with a loose curl of her hair. Leaning down, he whispered into her ear, "My love, we do what all good pirates do, we plot. And we have much to plan, for thou art coming to Neverland. The fairy guide shall come for you after one more Neverland night."


	5. Chapter 5

**I apologize for the long wait, real life and all...besides we all know that absence makes the heart grow fonder. Alas, our dear Captain is not mine, but Maddie is. It's a short chapter, so I'm posting two, instead of one, tonight. Enjoy!**

* * *

Maddie sat in an armchair in her apartment, staring at the earring in her hand. In order to keep safe the strands of James' hair, which had been entwined in the hoop, she had placed them in the heart-shaped silver locket that she now wore constantly. The soft light from the lamp on the table next to her glinted off the piece of gold, and a low murmur of voices rumbled from the TV. She considered all of the implications of what this solitary piece of jewelry meant.

It seemed it was true. It was not a dream. It was real. Fairies. The fairies would be coming for her the night of the full moon. Should she go?

Was she ready to leave her life, and all she had, for a man she barely knew? He was a pirate. They were ruthless criminals and wicked men, which meant that James, _her_ James, was a ruthless criminal and a wicked man. Not only that, but he was _the_ Captain Hook, one of the most feared pirate captains who had disappeared under mysterious circumstances so very long ago. She envisioned him striding across the deck, hair whipping in the wind, a spy-glass in his hand, a sword on his left hip, and the metal of his hook glinting in the sun. The woman shivered.

Then the questions started. Maybe she shouldn't go? What did she really know about him? The stories that her lover told her of himself were of a ruthless, cruel man, who feared nothing and who had no boundaries, except for his own code of personal honor. He felt no shame in sharing those stories with her. He was proud of his past. He would not change his pirating ways for her. Did she want him to? She thought not. What would happen if he grew tired of her? Her gut instinct told her that she was important to him. He was not a man given to superficial sentiment. To be bluntly honest, he was cynical, intelligent, ruthless, and scheming. But he was attentive, caring, loving, gentle and protective when with her. The dichotomy between the two was mind-boggling. Could he be lying to her? She didn't think that he was. What if he did love as intensely and loyally as he pirated? Pirates lived for adventure. But wasn't love just another kind of adventure? Did she want to abandon that? The dreams, the connection, they meant something important. She sighed, absently tapping the earring against her lips.

If she was brutally honest with herself, she didn't have much to keep her where she was. Her parents were dead, and they had been only children, just like her. So she had no other family, no partner. She didn't even have plants. It would be as if she was moving to a foreign country, Italy or India. Her urban family would miss her, but, to be honest, all of her friends had spouses and children. They were busy with their lives, and her relationships with them had been relegated to phone calls, email, and occasional visits.

Her last boyfriend had been consumed by basketball season, and once that was done, baseball, and then football. He was so dull that he didn't even like ice hockey because it was too unpredictable. He preferred to have sex once a week on Saturday night, and maybe on a second night if it was a special week. She'd been accused of being eccentric due to her desire to want to have chocolate late at night. He'd been a crashing bore, and she had felt overwhelming relief when they broke up.

Her series of unexciting, unchallenging jobs were a dead-end. She used her extra income to travel on her own. She was the odd one out, the one who did not fit the proscribed template, and who dreamt of unfettered freedom. She longed for adventure with a like-minded soul. She was tired of sailing through life without sharing her adventures. She wanted to chase this love to see where it went.

She put the earring back on for safekeeping and to keep him close to her. Maddie allowed her head to fall against the back of the chair as she continued to do the mental gymnastics of instinct, love and logic, all the while playing with the golden earring.


	6. Chapter 6

**It's heart-rending that the handsome Captain belongs entirely to Mr. Barrie, and not moi. Maddie, however, does.**

* * *

The bedraggled and furious pirate captain slammed Smee against the wall in one of the few inhabitable rooms in the Black Castle. The few other men in the room gasped and involuntarily pressed back against the edges of the chamber. The walls were cold and rather damp, and the sound of the ocean waves violently crashing against the keep was muted. Hook's eyes were a deadly color red, and looked like the rings of Hell in the dim light of the room. His hook pressed against the old man's throat as he threatened his bosun. Thinly veiled rage rolled off of him in waves.

"Where is she, Smee?" He whispered impatiently. "I will ask you for the last time. Where is _my_ woman? You were supposed to meet her at the beach. My lady is not at the beach nor is she here. The no good fairy bastard is nowhere to be found, and she is missing. I hold you personally responsible for her welfare. If I find that the men have harmed her in any way, I will kill you all, and I promise you that Death will not come easy. My hook will have its revenge." Hook hissed the last words to Smee, who paled and whimpered.

The pirate's formerly fine and immaculate clothing hung off of his frame. The red velvet and gold embroidery was ragged and torn. Hook stank of decayed crocodile, amphibian stomach bile, and ocean water. A new and vicious looking gash ran from the outer edge of his eye to the corner of his mouth, where the claw of the beast had caught him in its death throes when Hook had carved his way out of its belly. The arm that had once fed the crocodile had, in the end, killed it. His sharp steel hook had served him well in place of the steel sword he'd lost at the end of the battle with Pan. The despair, desolation, and fear of being alone, which had briefly and almost fatally overwhelmed him at the end of the battle, had given way to the pirate's anger at Pan and the beast as well as his desperate realization that he would never see his woman again. The memory of her face and his fear for her if his men should find her, alone and unprotected, spurred him to fight his way out of the beast.

The pirate captain had emerged, tired and filthy, from the crocodile and into the shallows along the shore, where the beast had fled while Hook assaulted it internally. After swimming to land, he had crawled onto the beach where he had fallen into an exhausted sleep, which lasted for hours. When he awoke he found that his ship had been commandeered by Pan, his crew was scattered across Neverland, and Smee cowered at their emergency stronghold, the Black Castle. Even worse, his mermaid was nowhere to be found, and, for once, concern for another human outweighed his fear for his ship. He knew that eventually Pan would tire of the outsized toy that was the Jolly Roger and he would discard it. The pirates, however, would torture and rape his woman, their newfound plaything, until she died. Fear for Maddie gripped his heart.

Hook growled at Smee and pressed his tarnished steel hook against the man's neck. Blood slowly welled up along the edge of the blade. He could feel Smee shaking. The pirate had already blackened Smee's eye and cut his cheek when he brutally backhanded the older man. A thin trail of blood shone at the corner of Smee's bruised and broken mouth, Hook's heavy rings having cut the skin. The tension in the room stretched to an almost unbearable level.

"Cap'n, I'm sorry, Cap'n. I didn't mean to fail ya. In the confusion, and your death-" At this, the pirate captain shoved the man against the wall again, knocking his head, and causing the blade to cut a little deeper. Hook's upper lip curled back in a silent snarl. Smee moaned in pain, his broken spectacles hanging off one of his ears, "-please, Cap'n, just...your accident, I mean, I may have lost track of the original task, but I went looking for the gel. I didn't want no harm to come to her. I went to the beach, to the meeting spot, but she weren't there. There was no sign of her. The fairy said that she never met him. He never saw her in the Otherworld. He waited but she didn't show. She weren't in her world neither." Smee cowered as much as a man could who was held in a deadlock, while warm liquid trickled down his leg and onto the floor.

Hook's eyes turned an even darker red and searched the older man's frightened ones. "If you're lying to me, Smee, there will be no second chances. I will gut you and use your body as the new flag for the Jolly Roger." He growled and as he stepped away from the man, Hook slid his hook across Smee's throat and a thin red line appeared, blood leaking from the wound. He dropped the bosun with a snarl, and Smee grabbed his throat, fearing the worst. The pirate captain turned, and looked at the floor in an attempt to compose himself.

Then, as Smee's words sank in and he realized that she never left her world in the first place, pain as sharp and as swift as his hook pierced him. His mermaid, his love, deceived him. She abandoned him, and left him alone and unloved in truth. He'd fought Death for her, and she simply threw him aside. A small worried inner voice whispered,_ "_W_hat if something had happened to her, preventing her from the meeting?" _ He felt a vice-like grip around his heart and shook his head to ride himself of the unwanted thought. The man inhaled sharply in an attempt to divest himself of the unwanted thought. He instinctively turned to his old companions, bitterness, anger, and hate, and embraced them. In a swift and fierce move, the captain slammed his hook several times into the heavy oak door to his right. Pieces of wood flew as he raged out of control. Finally, he stopped, having exhausted himself and wracked by the pain caused by the violent pounding that shot through his wrist and up his arm.

He turned, flinging his hook up, and bellowed in pain and rage, "The bitch! The bloody chit betrayed me! ME! Captain James Hook! She dared to betray me!" His voice dropped and became quiet. "I swear to all that is unholy that she cannot hide from me. I shall make her wish that she had never heard of the name Captain James Hook! My new obsession is her. No one - do you understand me- _NO_ one is to touch her. If she is found, you shall bring her directly to me. Is that understood? She is mine."

The few men that stood in the room with the Captain and Smee backed away from the raging man. And those who did not get out of his way fast enough as he stalked through the castle felt the touch of the hook in their spleens as he vented his fury towards the woman. Pirates fell like dead fairies amongst unbelievers.

* * *

Hook's anger sustained him and fueled him over the next few days. The men feared him even more than they had previously. The pirate was in a state of perpetual unholy rage and his eyes seemed to be in permanent state of red. He drove his men relentlessly in the search for Maddie. He returned again and again to the cove but it was always silent and empty. The more he searched the more enraged he became, but at night in the cove, the familiar twin feelings of desolation and loneliness sometimes snuck upon him and threatened to overwhelm and paralyze him. The disbelief at her betrayal was unbearable, but the idea that she had not deceived him meant that something far worse had happened to her. He simply could not face that alternative for it would mean that she was gone forever, and he would remain alone and unloved.


	7. Chapter 7

**After much discussion, the Dear Captain and I decided to leave a little gift under the Christmas Mast on the Jolly Roger. I still - much to my continual disappointment- have no claims on our handsome rogue Captain, but I do to Maddie. Enjoy! Happy Holidays all! :^)**

* * *

The pirate captain stalked across the cove, carefully keeping to the shadows, while the moon measured his progress. She shone on the water and bathed the small beach in a soft white light, but Hook preferred the darkness. If she were here then he would take her by surprise. He doubted he would find Maddie, but he would not give up, he had eternity to search for her. He had bared his soul to her and in the end she deceived him. The woman would learn what it meant to betray her pirate lover. The endless mental lists of tortures kept the horrible alternatives at bay, distracting him from the unwanted possibilities and driving his anxiety away, as deep in his heart he knew that he could never actually hurt her. He padded towards the edge of the beach, moving over the smooth, rounded pebbles, hearing their familiar and comforting click. Finally he stood in the shallows, the water calmly lapping at his boots. Closing his eyes and leaning his head back, he inhaled the familiar scents of the water and the earth. The rage that had ridden him since that moment at the Black Castle was now always just beneath the surface, like the slow moving lava that crept across land in the Pacific isles. Now, in their sacred place, it erupted towards the surface.

He turned, bellowing her name, "Maddie! Maddie! Damn your hide! Maddie, get here now, woman! Stop hiding, you coward! We've unfinished business, you and I!"

Silence quickly descended upon him after the dying echo of his harsh cries. The water still lapped at his feet and the moon witnessed yet again his actions in the cove. She seemed to chastise him, but for what he did not know. True bewilderment, and then bitterness and despair, two of his constant long-term companions, swept over him. They were rapidly followed by desolation and grief, which flared through his consciousness. He did not know what he had done to cause his mermaid to abandon him. Even his brave lover would have backed up a step from him upon seeing his terrible expression and the deep red eyes burning in his pale face, itself the color of the moon.

He stalked back around the cove as a predator does around its territory. First, he checked the hole in the tree where they kept messages for one another, something they had started after the night of her tears. It was empty, but the pencil was gone. He felt something hard under his boot and heard something snap. He moved his foot and, looking down, saw the broken writing implement. He grunted to himself, thinking that a bird or small animal must have moved it. He thought nothing more of it.

He climbed to the outcrop of rock and, again, at first glance, there was nothing. Then he saw something flutter in the wind. He looked more carefully and found that it was a part of her cut chemise. It had caught in the rock. As he leaned down to grasp it, memories flitted through his mind. He remembered her face when she would throw back her head in ecstasy. She would clutch him to her and keen his name, not Hook, but James. The pirate was always James during their loving. She made him feel like a whole man, not a broken one. He sniffed the piece of lavender cloth, desperate to find her faded scent, and closed his eyes for a moment. If he held still he could almost feel the whisper of her touch against his bare skin, the ghost of her lips against his ear, her nails dragging along his back as she gasped in pleasure, writhing beneath him. He could smell her perfume on the cloth. The combination of her smell and the sea gave him the realization of what she would have smelt like as his pirate queen.

His anger spiked at that thought, but then slowly receded as he continued to inhale her scent, and then rapidly turned to confusion and grief. He gasped in a great inhale of air to steady himself. He continued on his path and paced down to the beach, his strides reminiscent of big game cats stalking their prey. He strode to their sheltered soft spot on the beach, a grotto with soft, clean sand, surrounded by herbs, brush and trees. He absently swung his hook, like a scythe, towards the plants and the fresh bruising unleashed scents he always associated with her: wild oregano, rosemary, and flowers.

Suddenly, a sharp memory overwhelmed him. The night of a storm, she had run out to the beach, wearing nothing. His lips twitched, remembering their play when she coaxed him out with her. They ran in the rain, as dolphins do in the sea, and when he had caught her, her shrieks of laughter had rung through the night. They had tumbled to the sand and made urgent love in the rain.

Stunned by the memory, the pirate captain stopped still, and, at a loss at what he should do next, he bellowed her name again. This time the sound had a plaintive note, one of longing and hurt. The only sound that greeted him, however, was the eternal sound of the sea lapping against the shoreline and the slight breeze ruffling the leaves.

His proud, strong shoulders slumped, and he whispered, "Maddie, my mermaid, why?" A slow black-red tear tracked down his face, glistening in the moonlight. He moved his hand to brush it away, and hissed when it hit his skin. Looking down, he swore sharply. And then he saw it, almost buried completely in the sand, an envelope. His breath caught, and then he carefully leaned down to pluck it from the grasp of the beach. On the outside it simply said, "_My Beloved Pirate_." The paper shook in his hand as he debated about opening it.

Then he gently and carefully opened the stationary, and pulled out the folded letter. He felt something hit his boot, and then heard its heavy weight plop into the sand, but he ignored it for the moment.

His hand shook some more and he tried to still it. He looked up at the moon for a moment, petitioning her for strength, and it seemed the moonlight strengthened her beams, as if in a comforting caress, for a fleeting second. He looked down and read.

_"My Beloved Pirate,_

_I came, but you were not here. I've been coming for many days and each time it's more difficult. I'm tired and weak. I'm not sure why. I feel strange and lost. My memories are fuzzy. I can't remember why I couldn't find the fairy. I cannot find you and I feel myself getting weaker. You will never be alone - know that. I love you. Please don't hate me._

_My heart is yours,_

_Maddie_

_PS. I hope that you'll find this soon. I found this on my wrist, but I don't know why it was there...help me...I'm afraid..."_

The last words slid towards the bottom of the page. Hook's breath caught. Her writing was a loose scrawl and practically illegible. It was not her normal writing, which was always firm, smooth, and elegant like her. And it looked as if there was a smudge of blood staining the bottom of the page.

He felt something akin to panic rise up in him. The realization that she had not abandoned him hit him hard. Questions moved through his mind. What could she possibly mean that she was lost? An accident? Something had happened to her, but what? Her note was practically incomprehensible. She'd been searching for him, but she did not sound like herself. Granted he had been lost himself while trapped in the belly of the beast, and they knew that time was not the same in their worlds, but for him it had been merely a matter of a week or two. Lucifer only knew how long it had been in her world. Confused, he reread the letter and then read it again. There was no address on the letter. How was he to find her?

And then, as the full possible meaning of the letter dawned on him, a broken sound emerged from his lips as the cold fingertips of fear crawled up his spine. Guilt rolled over him as he remembered the insulting things he had called her and vowed to do to her when he found her, his lady. She had been hurt and tired, but yet still looked for him, meanwhile, he had abandoned her love and trust like a wounded animal. What had she felt while searching for him while getting weaker and more confused? He groaned.

He crumpled the papers up and threw them down to the sand. Then his legs simply refused to hold him any longer and the great man fell. Hook vomited the contents of his stomach onto the sand. The pirate captain knelt, shuddering, while great heaving breaths came from his body. The solitude and privacy of the cove, with the protection of the moon, allowed his emotions to unfurl and billow around him. He wept black-red tears that hissed as they hit the earth, causing the sand to sizzle and fuse together into black-red glassy blobs. Anger and grief flowed out of him as he pounded and clawed the sand with his hand and hook. Exhausted, he collapsed, and as the anger faded, he dully realized that he felt something poking him in his back.

Sitting up, he turned, and saw a glint in the sand. It was a silver locket, a heart shaped locket. He pulled it from the beach's greedy grasp and held the heavy silver object in his hand. There was a strange orange bracelet wrapped around the chain. He peered at it closely in the moonlight, and it seemed the moon was curious too, as she brightened her gaze on the bereaved man. There was an address. It seemed to be a hospital in his mermaid's city. There was blood on it too.

He stared stupidly at it for a moment. Then it clicked. He could find her. She was not dead. She was simply missing. X always marked the spot, and here was the X. He would rescue his Maddie and this would be done. They would speak no more about it.

He awkwardly put the chain over his head, and grabbed her letter. He shoved the wadded paper into his pocket and then kissed the locket. He grimly whispered, "I am coming, my mermaid."

* * *

The pirate captain hunted the forest. He had one goal and one goal only - his mermaid. If the insolent flying youth barred his way, he would bat him away like a fly. Hook would not be deterred from his path. He slowed his pace and then stood still. The wind whispered through the forest. Hook was close and knew it. Small lights darted in the distance. He had to find a way to complete this part of his plan in stealth. He thought for a moment. Then he circled the encampment. His luck turned and he found two of the guards. Believing themselves safe, they were distracted and playing dice.

The pirate reached out and grabbed the two fairies and, before they knew it, they were wedged rather uncomfortably into a small jar. Hook carefully screwed the cap onto the container. He lifted the jar, watching them as they helplessly banged on the wall of the jar. He arched his brow.

Then tapping the glass with his hook, he softly said to them, "Ah, yes. Excellent. One pirate-made fairy-dust shaker. Have no fear, my small friends; I have deigned to provide holes through which you may breathe. Make yourselves at home, for we are going a-hunting in the Otherworld."

The pirate strung the jar around his neck, and said, rather cheerfully, "We have a damsel to rescue. 'Tis like a true fairy-tale, pun intended, my miniature travelling companions." Hook smiled and chuckled softly at his joke. "And, remember, my friends, if you refuse to cooperate, the alternative shall not be pleasant. Just five small words...I believe you know them well." He smirked callously at them and then tapped the lid of the jar with his hook, the fairies cowering in fear.

* * *

**Re: the reference to "...the night of her tears...", for those of you who have forgotten Chapter 2, this sentence refers back to the second paragraph. ;^)**


	8. Chapter 8

**Santa did not bring me our handsome captain, so I still am unable to lay any claim to the pirate, however, Maddie is still mine! Happy New Year!**

* * *

Hook stood and fingered the fairy jar in his pocket. They were complaining about being in the dark. He had never realized how much fairies whinged. It was excessively. He hissed at the beings to be silent, and, after a moment of grumbling, the tinkling sounds fell quiet.

He was in front of a set of large doors that led into the hospital. He studied the building suspiciously, as it did not look like any that he had ever known. It looked too clean and filled with light. He was reluctant to enter. Everyone knew that they were dingy, dark places where people came to die. He watched men, women and children, young and old, walk in and out of the structure.

Hook lifted his head, straightened his shoulders and walked up to the entrance as he saw others do. Lips set into a grim line, he strode towards the doors, which opened magically, and quickly walked through them, not wanting to get caught when they closed. Once on the other side, he expelled the breath he did not realize he'd been holding. Although he lived with Neverland magic on a daily basis, this modern witchcraft was most unnerving and unfamiliar.

He stopped short, stunned by the interior of the building and its grandeur. Someone ran into his back, and Hook whipped around. He snarled at a man, who was dressed in the blandest and most shapeless set of trousers and shirt of monochrome color that the pirate had ever seen. The hue reminded him of Smee's pea soup, he thought idly, while the stranger quickly stepped away, apologizing. Hook sniffed, the man instantly dismissed, and continued to gaze around at the entry space. Then, in a moment of contemplation, the pirate looked down at his own clothes. After seeing the dull and colorless costumes of the men the first time he'd been in Maddie's world, he'd decided to wear a more sober suit of plain dark wool with a dark shirt. He was here to rescue his mermaid, and he didn't want to garner any unnecessary attention. If he was caught, not only would he be trapped forever on land, a pirate's worst nightmare, but Maddie would be abandoned to her fate, and they would be parted forever. Hook absently ran his fingers across the dark silk stocking that camouflaged his hook while he considered his next move.

The man saw a large round desk in the middle of the entry, with a sign that rather helpfully declared, "Information." Hook strode towards this possible font of knowledge and then stopped short. Three fearsome looking women who reminded him of the Harpies of Greek legend guarded it. Doubt crowded his mind as he realized how much he did not know about the modern world. It would be so much easier if he could just use simple violence and force for this adventure. For a moment he hesitated, then reminding himself that he too was rather fearsome, he gathered his courage and made his way towards the prettiest one of the lot, who he had to admit was not actually pretty at all.

"Can I help you, sir?" asked the woman, who upon closer inspection, seemed to be angry at the world and its population simply on principle. He silently mused that she seemed not to fear him, but then Maddie never did either. Perhaps it was just an attribute of the brazen modern woman.

Hook looked down his nose at her, and cocked an eyebrow. The woman cracked her gum, stared balefully back at him, and then looked down at the hangnails on her fingers. Apparently he had been dismissed out of hand by the female. The pirate cleared his throat, reminding himself that these...ladies held information dear to his heart, and said, very carefully. "My dear lady, I am searching for Miss Maddie...Burnett. She arrived here on-" he frowned while attempting to remember the date on the strange bracelet in his pocket "-May 31 of...err...this year." He finished lamely.

The woman, who reminded Hook more and more of his crocodile nemesis, grunted in a cheerless manner and banged away on a board that had little protuberances on it. Then, once she finished pounding, the angry she-beast peered at a box in front of her. Without glancing at the man, she replied, "She's in ICU. It's on the northern campus in the Keppler wing, the eastern side of the western annex of the southern Davis-Glass building on the fourth floor in room 451."

Hook blinked. Then he fervently hoped that he could find a map. Did they even have maps in this time, he wondered fitfully.

Still not looking at him, she reached under the desk and whipped out a piece of paper, and slammed it down on the desk counter. He breathed out a sigh of relief when he saw that it was, indeed, a map. She heaved herself out of the chair, reminding him ever more of the Great Beast he'd defeated weeks earlier, and, more quickly than he could have imagined, began to draw circles, arrows, lines and stars across the parchment all the while rapidly imparting directions.

When she stopped to take a breath, Hook reached out to take the page, but she slammed her paw down onto the map and said, "Are you a relative? Only relatives are allowed in the wing she's in."

He stared at her. Surely, this ...woman could not be serious. His eyes tinged red at the edges, and the desire to gut her bubbled up inside him. He fought to maintain his composure and said stiffly through his anger, "Miss Burnett is my intended."

The woman stared at him dully.

He tried again. "We are affianced."

There was no reaction.

"She is my betrothed."

The blank look on the woman's face seemed to be getting worse. Really, Hook thought, the crocodile had been more intelligent than this...person.

"She is to be my wife."

The eyelids of the Great She Beast lifted a bit at the word "wife," which seemed to cause the map to magically unlock from her death-grip. He quickly pulled the hard won treasure away from her hand before she could change her mind. He turned to go.

"Excuse me, where do you think you're going, handsome? Hey! Prince Charming, I'm talking to you. We're not done yet."

His shoulders slumped a bit. He inwardly shuddered at the idea that she might find him attractive and, for a brief moment, found himself wishing that he was in Neverland fighting the crocodile. He straightened and turned back to the woman.

He smiled. "Of course, we are not, my lovely. What else must I do to gain entrance to this hospital?" False charm oozed out of every pore of the pirate.

The woman grunted again, and said, clearly unmoved by any charm, false or not, "Well, Your Highness, you need a badge to see your girlfriend. Stand at the yellow line and look here."

Hook looked around and then stood where she directed. Her paw landed on a small globe with dark hole. As he glanced down at her hand, she pressed a button and a bright white light flashed, startling Hook. Blinded, he stood stock still, waiting to see how this new modern torture would play out. His heart pounding in anticipation of a fight, the white light receded and he could see the world again. He breathed out slowly, dispelling his battle-ready energy.

The woman was talking to him again, he looked up at her and attempted to focus on her words, "...please." He stared at her in confusion, gaping like a fish out of water.

"I said, name please, or should I just write Prince Charming?" she said mockingly.

He frowned at her cheek and said succinctly, "James Hook."

She nodded and then within moments she slapped a sticky piece of paper onto his lapel and instructed him to wear it on his visit. He looked at it more closely and saw a portrait of himself staring down at the camera in confusion. He raised both his eyebrows and cocked his head to one side, lips pursing. He sniffed. He had to admit it was not his best look. However, fascinated by the newfangled portraits, he whispered to himself, "Marvelous. Instant miniatures. This age is simply brilliant." Then remembering where he was, he looked up to see if she had heard him. The pirate need not have worried. The Great She Beast had sat back down and was chatting to her clutch of demon women. He cleared his throat. The She Beast looked up.

"Yes, Your Highness?" she asked sarcastically.

"May I go now? Or dost thou perhaps require some blood and hair?" he asked with studied nonchalance.

She blinked slowly and said, "We don't do that stuff. That's the lab upstairs on the third floor." Then the woman looked back at her co-workers and ignored him.

Hook took that incomprehensible answer to mean that he was free of her attentions and strode away from the "information" desk. The modern world seemed to be an uncivilized place. There was no doubt that he must remove his mermaid from this society, even his ghastly pirates had better form. He stopped to look at the map and get his bearings. It would not do to go sailing off in the opposite direction of his destination whilst attempting a rescue.

* * *

The captain followed the signs. And, with the help of several rather pretty women who made sea-cow eyes at him, he found himself outside room 451. His reception on the floor had been surprisingly polite and with little fuss, almost as if they had been expecting him.

The floor was quiet and people talked in hushed tones and moved silently around the space. Strange and unusual sounds, which were foreign to the pirate's ear, happened continuously. They seemed to be so commonplace that for the most part they were ignored. People roamed around in the odd, shapeless monochrome costumes, except here they were a deep blue, and some wore white coats over the blue clothes. Many sat at the strange boxes with the boards that he had seen at the information desk. There was a faint chemical scent drifting in the air, and he was again struck by how spotlessly clean everything seemed to be. People talked in soft tones and a general hush seemed to fill this section of the hallway. He saw a bucket attached to the wall next to the door and in it was a file with his mermaid's name. He felt himself relax. He had found her. Surely now all would be well. He felt strangely positive about the outcome of this visit, but, for a moment, the man's courage failed him.

The pirate lifted his chin, straightened his shoulders, and then strode into the room, and stopped. Shock washed over him. He hadn't known what to expect, but it wasn't this.

In his mind's eye, she had been awake and smiling tiredly at him, perhaps even wearing an embroidered, high-necked, fine linen night-rail with her chestnut curls tumbling around her face. There were tea and biscuits on the table next to the bed, and a book resting on her lap.

Instead, in reality, she was lying unconscious in a bed, in a cheap, ugly gown, looking small and helpless, bruised and battered, with strange mechanics hooked to her arms. Her long, glorious hair lay limp around her face and on her pillow. The skin, which was not bruised, was pale, as white as their companion moon. An eye was blackened, but the bruise was fading. A gash, which was pink and shiny as it healed, matched his in placement and size on her cheek. One of her arms had a bandage wrapped around it. He didn't mean to, but a sad, harsh gasp escaped him.

"Oh, my love, my mermaid, what happened to you?" he whispered, wincing, remembering his harsh accusations and vows of harm he'd made, thinking she had abandoned him. Guilt curled around his heart. It seemed his mental punishments had played out here in her world. His breath hitched. _Would she forgive him for doubting her? _ He took the remaining steps towards the bed. He reached out and gently touched her hand with his finger. She was so still he feared she had stopped breathing. He watched to see if he could see the rise and fall of her chest, and he exhaled when she did.

His hand trailed up her arm and he carefully nudged a lock of hair away from her ear. Gently grasping her hair, he ran his hand down its length feeling its softness. When it dropped to the pillow, he traced her cheek, and leaning down, he kissed her. "This is where you wake, my mermaid, just like in those stories you tell me, where love always defeats evil, where I am always the knight in shining armor, your prince, your pirate king." He whispered into her ear, but she remained silent. Straightening, he ran his finger along the edge of her jawline. "Mermaid, dost thou wish to return to Neverland with me? To be my pirate queen?" he whispered coyly. She remained quiet. He looked up towards the ceiling for a moment to compose himself.

"You must be James. You look just like she described." Startled, he turned towards the voice and saw a woman sitting in a chair. She looked sad and tired, but she smiled at him. Her eyes were filled with curiosity as she inspected him. Hook instinctively knew that this woman was important in Maddie's life, and he would not be able to rescue his mermaid without her. He bowed in his best courtly manner and introduced himself.

"I'm Kate, Maddie's best friend." She continued to inspect him, as Hook remembered the name from Maddie and his intimate discussions. "We put your name on the family list in case you came, which is why they allowed you to come into the room when you came onto the floor." She held out the golden earring, and said, "I think this is yours."

Hook nodded, and then tentatively took the earring from her palm. The chain that had been wrapped around his heart from the moment that he realized she was missing tightened some more. She had kept his earring. He watched the friend. She waved him to a seat, and Hook pulled a chair over to the bed. He touched Maddie's cool, still hand.

The woman asked, "Is that it?" He turned and looked at Kate, and tilted his head in question.

"Maddie told me about you. First, I thought she was losing her mind. But then... I started to trust that she was not, that perhaps you were real. And I saw how she felt about you. She told me about..." She gestured towards his right arm. Hook grimaced and nodded. This Kate was the closest that Maddie had to family, so he allowed the question to pass, knowing that if his mermaid's father lived, he'd have been subjected to even harsher questions. He silently pulled the stocking off his steel hook, and Kate nodded. "You're correct to hide that here."

The man nodded and covered the hook again with the silky cloth. They sat for a long time in silence while the pirate stared at his woman. He softly rubbed his thumb across Maddie's palm. Finally, he asked, looking over at Kate, "Do you think she knows that I am here?"

She nodded. "Yes...yes, I think she does, early on she called for you. I think she was looking for you." She was silent for a long time. "She loves you."

His eyes lowered, his head lifted, and his nostrils flared slightly, but he said nothing, refusing to share any feelings with anyone not his mermaid. Then feeling the gentle touch of Kate's hand at his elbow, he nodded.

Later that afternoon, he finally asked. "What happened? How did this happen? How long has she been..." He found he could not finish the last question.

Kate cleared her throat and then said thickly, "It's been two weeks. She was getting ready to leave, to meet you later that day, and she came out of the bank."

She stopped for a moment and collected herself. "Apparently, she was followed by some men. They thought that she had a large sum of money, and she didn't. But they attacked her, dragged her into an alley, and then beat her, knifed her." She gestured to her own face and the words trailed off. "She's lucky. It could have been so much worse."

Hook's rage came, his eyes tinging red, and he stared at Kate. He was used to the wicked ways of men, but tempering his blunt speech so as not to upset the woman further, he said softly, "What else did they do to her, madam? Did they...did they cause her additional harm?"

The woman's face closed for a moment, and she said, "No, thank goodness. Not that they didn't try, but a man and a police officer heard her screams and ran to her rescue, but not before this... She was conscious for a while, and she seemed to be getting better, but she simply became weaker and weaker as time passed. It seemed that when you didn't come, she started to give up." Kate stroked her friend's shoulder, and then looked the pirate in the eye. "I think she thought you were dead and simply lost the will to live."

"And the miscreants?" he asked neutrally.

Kate sighed, and said, "Well, they were in jail, but without Maddie to press charges, I'm not sure what will happen." She fell silent.

Hook scowled, considering what he could to do them, indeed, desired to do to them if he had more time. Then the pirate said carefully. "I've come to take her. She is mine. I shall not depart without her."

To strengthen his claim, he pulled out the well-read, rumpled note and handed it to Kate. Her hand shook while she read it. When she was done, the friend carefully smoothed and neatly refolded it. She handed it back to the pirate.

And then, tears brimming in her eyes, the friend simply said, "She'll be safe with you? You'll protect her? Maddie was always trying to get me to go on adventures with her, but I'm not...Well...She'll have her adventures with you? And love?"

He could only nod. He had no way to comfort this woman in front of him. He could barely help Maddie. He said softly and simply, "Thou must not fear for her. I will protect her...for always. I vow I shall not hurt her. She is my pirate queen."

Her friend drew in a ragged breath, and took the offered silken handkerchief. She blew her nose, composing herself, she responded, with more tears filling her eyes, "Then I'll help you any way I can. She wants to be with you."


	9. Chapter 9

**The dear Captain is still not mine *sighs dramatically* but Maddie is. Enjoy!**

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He looked down at the woman, and exhaled sharply. He'd rather she die in his arms on the Jolly Roger than in this sterile environment. Kate and he reviewed the battle plan. They removed all of the tubes that would not set off any alarms. She had pointed out that they were only able to plan the kidnapping because Maddie didn't need the breathing tube, for which he silently thanked Lucifer for small favors. Hook shook the jar with the angry fairies over himself and Maddie, fairy dust turning and glittering in the air.

He whispered to the bruised and whinging fairies, "Oh, do be quiet. I fed you lot at tea time." And just for good measure he gave the jar an extra hard shake and chuckled evilly in response to the louder squeaks and tinkling. He shoved the jar back into his pocket. Now they only had to take the last leads off the unconscious woman.

He gently ran his hook over his unconscious mermaid's cheek and whispered, "We are going home, my mermaid."

Kate already had gone to the visitor's waiting room and opened the balcony doorway. All they had to do was get there, and, thankfully, it was less than 10 paces outside Maddie's door. This was a strangely staid kidnap, but then any successful kidnap was a good one in his mind.

He bent to lift his mermaid up, ceasing when Kate made some inane comment that sounded rather like, "No, lift with your knees, not your back."

He stopped, turning his head, arched an eyebrow at her. "Madam, I, a pirate and experienced kidnapper, am attempting to steal away a woman who is like a sister to you, who you shall never see again, and you instruct me on how to do it? I live in constant wonder and awe of the forward ways of the modern woman. Mind you, I do appreciate a good brazen wench. But do you not think you should be concentrating on practising your tears and womanly hysterics?" Then he said more gently, "Have no worries, my dear, she is in good hand and hook."

Kate laughed sadly. She smoothed Maddie's hair and then kissed her friend on the cheek. "Good-bye, friend, have a wonderful life in Neverland. I know you will be well looked after. I love you." Then she whispered, "He may be a wicked pirate, but I do think you've found a keeper, my love. And he's so handsome, you lucky woman, you."

Hook shifted uncomfortably, and his cheeks colored. He was no longer immune to women singing his praises even in back-handed compliments. He exhaled sharply, and then said, "Art thou ready, madam? Or perhaps thou wouldst care for a few rounds of whist before we depart?" He cocked his eyebrow at her. "Mmm...?"

She smiled sadly at him and his attempt at levity. And he softened his stance, "I shall take care of her no matter what. Have no worries, madam." She nodded. "Now, are you ready? And please note that I shall lift with my knees and not my back. Count to 45, my dear."

Kate nodded, and he lifted up Maddie. Her friend removed the last lines to the heart monitor, and suddenly the machine flatlined.

She hissed, "Go!" She flung herself to the floor, arranged herself, and then rather dramatically started to scream after he ran out the door. Upon hearing her yells, he thought absently that perhaps they could all find employment treading the boards.

The pirate captain reached the balcony and awkwardly clambered over it to the ledge. There was a moment where he found himself holding his breath, his heart leaping in panic as he both lost his balance and narrowly avoided knocking Maddie's head into the wall. He muttered, "Poor form, Hook, poor form." He heard people running down the hall and then raised voices. "Hang on, my mermaid, we are going home."

He thought happy thoughts: Maddie on the beach in the rain, her head thrown back in ecstasy as she moved against him, Maddie laughing, a nice cup of tea, the Jolly Roger, fine wine, pillaging, playing the harpsichord, looting, killing, drowning kittens, killing Pan, and slaughtering dentists. Then he leapt off the edge. He sagged in the air for one heart-stopping moment, and whispered, hoping to Lucifer that she would hear him, "Happy thoughts, my love, happy thoughts, otherwise we shall not get to the Jolly Roger. Remember, my love, unhappy thoughts bring you down." And then just as a man in uniform reached out to grab them, they shot up like a cannon ball disgorged from Long Tom through the late night sky towards Neverland.

XOXOXOXO

Hook laid Maddie down on the deck of the Jolly Roger. At least Smee had accomplished something worthwhile during the captain's absence and had secured the return of the ship. The two men stared down at the unconscious woman. The captain frowned.

Smee made a small, sad noise. "Oh, look at the poor gel. Poor wee thing." Hook turned and looked at him, his eyebrows shooting upwards in surprise. For a pirate, Smee had an exceptionally soft heart. Smee continued, "Will she live, Cap'n?"

Hook was silent. The other pirates slowly gathered around the woman. The mangy parrot limped towards her and, uncharacteristically, gently touched her hand with its beak and then softly squawked at her. The pirate captain scowled at the men and they all backed away a step. He knelt, batted away the parrot, and touched Maddie's cheek. The pirate said more casually than he felt, "I do not know, Smee. It is my hope that she shall know that she is here with me. It, however, may be too late. At the very least we shall keep her safe until...whatever happens."

He stood, turned, his small store of patience exhausted, shouting. "Unworthy sea-dogs! Why are you standing around gaping like puffer fish? Have you never spied a woman before? Get back to work, or I shall gut the lot of you! I want this ship cleaned from top to bottom. The captain's lady is here to stay. Do you want her to be mired in filth?! There is to be no trace of those wretched, puling human spawn left on Jolly Roger by nightfall!" All the men stood frozen. "Now!" Hook roared, grabbing the pistol out of Smee's sash, and shot Black-eyed Joe in the shoulder. The men scuttled away from the pirate captain and his woman.


	10. Chapter 10

**Alas, yet again, I still do not own the charming, handsome Captain. I do, however, own Maddie. I know that some of you may be disappointed in the dear Captain's bloodthirsty behavior this time around, but he was adamant and desirous to remind you, dear readers, that he while he is a lover, he is also a pirate...one of the most deadly that sailed the Seven Seas. Would you really want him to avenge his Mermaid in anything but a pirate's manner? It would simply be bad form, and we all know how much he despises bad form. ;^**

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The inner city bar was cramped and dark. Smoke lazily crawled through the air, whatever light, which could be found, was reflected in it. The air was ripe with the stink of bitter, stale tobacco, dirty carpets soaked with random fluids, unwashed bodies, and unclean toilets. This was overlain with stink of cheap cologne and cloying air freshener. Some men, heads tilted up, sat and watched a game on TV. Others played pool. There was a scattering of women, with too much makeup and too little clothing, draping themselves over men. Ultimately, it was a man's haunt.

The Pirate Captain stepped into the bar, his men crowding in behind him. The door slammed shut. The man flicked his finger and a pirate threw the bolts. The customers fell quiet as they watched this motley assortment of men, who all looked slightly out of place in time, yet each and every one were surrounded with a dark and deadly aura. The tavern patrons were quite despicable themselves, and several had committed many crimes, but yet even they paled when they saw the pirate crew.

Hook had forgone his normal courtly attire, and instead had settled for one of his work outfits. He simply did not want to get any of their blood on his velvet and silks. Instead, he wore a simple black silk shirt, a black vest with black on black embroidery, under a black on black embroidered jacket, and his black breeches. A heavy silver heart shaped locket rested in the V of his partially undone shirt. His sword hung at his side and a brace of flintlock pistols rested comfortable in his belt. His hair was tied back with a deep blue scarf. A plain black hat, with a rather sedate set of feathers, graced his head. He had also sharpened his double hook to an especially sharp edge.

Smee looked grim and not a whisper of softness graced his facial expression. Even Noodler, with his hands on backwards, managed to look focused. The captain's men appraised the patrons with a predatory intent, and then spreading out, they blocked exits, and pathways. A customer moved to stand up, and found himself gently, but firmly, reseated by one of the pirates.

"Ah, yes, I do believe we finally have the correct establishment, men." The captain looked around him in an easy manner. "This city is simply awash with haunts for disreputable men. 'Tis quite tiring to find what one is searching for in the modern world." With a flourish, he removed his hat and handed it to one of his men.

To those that did not know him it would be easy to assume at first glance that he was a man who was easily dismissed, with his flamboyant, old fashioned clothing, handsome face, elegant speech, and care for manners and good form. All of those things, however, did not entirely hide the spare, lithe movements of an expert fighter or the cold, calculating eyes of a predator.

The women in the room found themselves drawn towards him. One was brazen enough to approach the pirate and whisper something in his ear. He arched his brow at her comment, and, then with slight smile that didn't reach his eyes, he picked up her hand and kissed the back of it. She, shooting a look of triumph to her female cohort, made a more obvious move for attention. Still holding her hand, Hook whispered something in her ear that ended with "whore." Her face turned ugly and she looked as if she were about to say something, until the pirate gently touched her lips with his hook and squeezed her hand, "Next time, my lady, I shall not be so kind. I would put a cold compress on that, if I were you," he said softly. Dropping her hand, he turned back to face his audience, summarily dismissing her. She hurried back to her corner, cradling her rapidly swelling hand in her arm.

Using his hook, he moved an errant long black tendril of curl away from his scarred cheek, the deadly steel glinting in the dim light. Then the captain rather deliberately set a stack of gold doubloons on the bar counter.

"Barkeep, a round for all, and please note that there is a rather generous tip for you in this stack. I am hoping that you might be able to satisfy some personal curiosity of mine about two individuals. And, to make the task even more simple, I do believe that they might already be here this evening." A slight undercurrent of muttering rippled through the room. The air was still as everyone watched the stranger by the bar.

"Allow me to introduce myself, I am Captain James Hook of the pirate ship, the Jolly Roger." He paused, looking around the room catching everyone's eyes. "And these- " he flourished his hook dramatically "- are my men. The most amoral, angry, and bloodthirsty crew ever collected by a captain who sails the seven seas under the skull and crossbones. These are the men that even Blackbeard considered too dangerous. Now we may not have the -" he sniffed haughtily and wiggled his fingers at his audience "- newfangled weaponry that many of you prefer, but perhaps that makes us a little bit deadlier. We, however, are perfectly content to fight you and gut you, while watching light of your life leave your eyes, as your blood drains onto this...floor." He sneered at the last word.

On a whim, he flicked a tumbler of whisky, which had been sitting at the edge of the bar, onto the ground. Everyone watched, entranced, as it fell to the floor and shattered, the liquid seeping into the carpet.

Hook chuckled and stepped further into the light. He flicked another glass off the bar. He turned his face so that the angry scar that crossed his face was more visible. The captain reached up and gently slid his hook down his jaw as he considered what to do next. Arching his brow and pursing his lips, he thought for a moment. Then pulling out one of his cigars from his waistcoat, he deftly used his hook to cut the end. The man smiled in satisfaction. Clamping his teeth around the cigar, he pulled out a match and lit it. Bringing the flame close, he inhaled and lit the cigar. Fascinated, everyone watched as he started to wave out the match, stopped, and instead threw the hot stick to the carpet. All eyes in the room followed the flame down to the floor, where it simply snuffed out. The inhabitants let out a shared held breath.

"Hmm...Interesting, I rather hoped it would go up as a piece of dry kindling, but the tapestry must have an exceptionally high water content. How wonderful!" He looked up and grinned sinisterly. "We are fortunate, aren't we?"

The sounds of patrons shifting uncomfortably echoed around the room.

"So. Now that my hook and I have your attention, I am looking for two men. These two men assaulted a woman in the middle of May. They beat her, knifed her, and would have raped her if two good Samaritans had not saved her. I am searching for those two men who committed the crime. I do believe they have some qualities that would make them quite at home on my ship. It is time for us to move into this century and gather fresh blood. Now, would any of you kind gentlemen and...ladies be able to assist us in our quest?" He deliberately set a second stack of coins down on the bar. "We do have the names of the men, if that would assist anyone's memory." There was quiet.

"Ah. I see that we may have to do this the hard way. Noodler, pick someone, anyone - except for the ladies, we are all gentlemen here, well, at least we pirates are-" he and his crew laughed at his own joke, "hmm, I sense that we shall have to encourage conversation." He sighed the last word.

He looked around at the bartender and tapped the counter. A drink appeared. The captain set his cigar carefully on the edge of the bar. Tossing the whiskey back in one swallow, he allowed the empty glass to fall to the floor.

Meanwhile Noodler walked around the room and then, seemingly at random, grabbed the collar of a man. "Captain, I think this man is wantin' to engage in some conversation."

"Well, don't just stand there, man, bring him here."

Noodler dragged the man closer to Hook.

The pirate picked up his cigar and took a deep drag from it. The man staggered to a stop, and then Hook exhaled the smoke into the man's face.

"Ah, Noodler, excellent choice. I do believe we have found one of the men for whom we were searching. " He waved his hand, and cigar, at the man. "Please do sit down."

Noodler and Smee pushed the man onto an empty barstool. "So, my friend, where is your companion in crime? It would be poor form to extend my offer to you without him. Tell me." The man remained silent. "Come now, don't be shy, man, I am offering you the chance of a lifetime." The pirate smirked.

The man's eyes nervously flickered to the left. Hook jerked his head. A pirate, who wore dark round sunglasses, smoothly wrested a second man to another barstool.

"Ah, excellent. I do believe the two of you are: Misters Edwin "Eddie the Fish" Fishmin and Maurice "Moe the Shark" Smith?" The men nodded nervously. "Very original, men, but we shall have to change them for more appropriate pirate names later."

Reaching out with his hook, the pirate tipped Eddie's head back and looked into his eyes. His eyes glowed red for a moment and Eddie flinched.

Hook's voice turned soft and seductive, "So Mr. Fish and Mr. Shark, are you the men who attacked that woman? It seems to be the most despicable of crimes, attacking an innocent woman, one that would fit right into a pirate's life."

The men nodded and then laughed nervously. The Shark said, "You shoulda seen that broad. She was all hoity-toity-like. She was in the bank for a long time, so we figured she probably was gonna come out with sumthin' that would make it worth while ... and maybe she'd give us a little fun on the side. Ya know what I mean?" He grabbed his crotch with his free hand.

The pirates stood silently. Hook rubbed his chin with his hook, turning he looked back at his men, who were glowering at the man. Turning back, he said politely, "Yes, I do believe we know exactly what you meant by that...rather crude gesture, my dear man."

He stared at the seated men and then laughed. "Oh, this is truly in very bad form, but I must confess...I lied. You shall not be coming to the Jolly Roger with us after all."

The red glow returned to his eyes, and he chuckled softly. "You see, I regret to inform you that you attacked MY woman. And I hear that you were in the process of attempting to ... have your ways with her when you were stopped. And while she will not testify against you in a court of law, I have no scruples and amazingly few morals. I will, therefore, punish you myself. I must admit that I am quite overcome with excitement about that delightful prospect." His face turned serious, and Hook looked up at his crew.

Jerking his head, he said, "Men." Instantly the pirates fanned out, cutlasses drawn and pistols cocked. The patrons were convinced not to help the two men.

Hook plucked his cigar out of his mouth and, rolling it between his fingers, he looked thoughtful as he watched it for a moment. He looked up, eyes glowing, and continued, "Now, I do not really care why you did it. It is not for me to rehabilitate you, but it is my responsibility and my deep pleasure to avenge her."

"I simply cannot allow you to escape punishment as my conscience will not allow it." He reached forward and casually pressed the cigar against the Eddie the Fish's cheek. The man screeched in pain and struggled against Noodler's hold. The stink of charred flesh wafted through the room.

"Oh...my lovely pirate queen had beautiful, soft, flawless skin until you scarred it. She was a milk lover, you know, she had this strange notion that milk kept her complexion clear." He placed the cigar back into his mouth, inhaling until the tip glowed red, and then set it just below the first burn. The man screamed.

"Thou should thank me, Mr. Fish, I have not plucked out thine eyes with my hook -" the man flinched "-yet." The man fought against his captors.

"What? Dost thou not enjoy this? Odd, I thought thou wouldst. Perhaps the hook then? Shall I carve thy face as thou carved hers?" The pirate reached up and gently set his hook against the man's chin. Hook lifted the man's face upward and looked into his eyes. "Ah. I see. Thou art a coward. Thou were not the brains of the attack, I sense..." The captain tilted his head as he studied the crying man's face.

The Fish shook his head and whimpered.

"You simply followed directions? And perhaps your bestial desires?" Hook said this in a soft, gentle voice, one that suggested he understood the other man's weaknesses.

The captive man nodded.

"Now, tell me, were you the one who was going to take advantage of her first?" Hook waited patiently.

Shaking, Eddie, stuttered, "N-n-no. It was his idea. It was all his idea. I was fine with the robbery. I didn't want any part of anything else. Please-please- tell your woman I'm sorry. I won't do it again."

"Well, then, perhaps I shall take mercy on thou." Hook dropped his arm and stood straight. "Yes, I shall. Mostly because I hold thou in utter contempt."

He turned away as the man gave a sigh of relief. Then Hook turned back, saying, "And, yet, my hook believes that thou deserves a larger punishment." Eyes glowing deep red as he swung his hook, the captain's steel claws caught the man on his cheek, slicing it open. The man's eyes widened. He screamed in pain and passed out, his body sagging in the arms of Noodler. Hook nodded at his pirate, who shoved the man off the stool onto the floor.

Kneeling down, Hook grabbed him and whispered, "Get me some water, Noodler. Now!" The other pirate quickly returned with ice water. Hook splashed it across the criminal's face, and shook him awake. The man whimpered, making panicked, incomprehensible promises.

Hook smiled, and said gently, "Oh no, the time has passed for those, my friend. Now 'tis my turn. Remember this feeling of helplessness and fear that you feel. The only promise I desire to hear from your lips is that you shall, from this day forward, treat our women as they ladies they are."

Crying, the man nodded, "I promise, just don't kill me. I promise."

The captain looked down, his gaze appraising. He tilted his head. "Oh, I shall assure thou that thou will kept thy promise." He laughed softly.

Captain Hook's eyes turned red and deadly, his hook slashing down. As the man cried out in pain, clutching his groin with blood seeping through his fingers. The pirate captain looked at the man, his mouth pursed in a moue of disgust. "And now you shall not inflict any of your puling human spawn on this world."

Climbing to his feet, Hook glanced down with a look of disgust on his face. Delicately placing his booted foot on the man's shoulder, he pushed the heavy weight over. A self-satisfied look washed over his face. "Excellent. One down, my love, one more to go," he whispered.

"Staunch that wound, One Eye." He demanded of one of his pirates. "And...be gentle about it. Mister Fish is having a rough day."

The captain turned to the second man. Stretching out his bloody double hook, he gently lifted the man's chin and looked him in the eye. "So, Mr. Shark, let's have a chat, shall we? Dost thou know why I am angry?"

The man stared belligerently at him and refused to speak, sweat beading at his hairline.

"No? Apparently thou dost not understand after all. Well, so be it." Hook sighed dramatically. "I find that I am wearying of this interaction and am rapidly losing my patience. Let me spell it out for you. You, sir, hurt my woman - my helpless, good-hearted, beautiful woman, the love of my exceedingly long life. You. Hurt. Her. And now I must defend her as she is unable to defend herself."

Hook pulled a silk, lace-edged handkerchief from his sleeve and carefully cleaned the blood off his cheek. Then he inspected his hook, making a little noise of disgust, he carefully cleaned the blood off the steel. "Tsk, another one ruined. Blood is so dreadfully difficult to remove. Ah, Smee, you shall have a terrible time of it. I do apologize profusely." He flung his hand to the side and, reaching out, Smee grabbed the bloodstained cloth and stuffed it into his pocket.

Hook flicked his hand at the pirates holding the man, and the sailors let him go.

"There, now we shall fight like men. Do watch your step as you do not want to slip in the blood."

The man, who had been rubbing his wrists, swung out and caught Hook in the jaw.

Hook's head snapped back, staggering back a step, he placed his hand to his face. "Oh, I do so enjoy fisticuffs, but such bad form - a surprise attack. I'll have you know, sir, that I was one of the best fighters at Eton and Oxford." Then Hook lashed out and punched the man in the face with his left hand, and as the man reeled backwards, Hook hit him again but this time with the right arm and the edge of the wooden and brass limb. The man staggered back. Hook grabbed him by the collar of his t-shirt and pulled him forward.

"Oh, how rude of me, forgive me, I quite forgot that my right hook - no pun intended- is truly a hook. " And then, chuckling at his wit, Hook let go of his shirt.

The man was caught off guard and tried to throw himself against the pirate, who simply batted him away with his right arm. The heavy wooden case of the hook smashed the man in his cheek, who grunted and swore. Blood trickled down The Shark's face from the cuts over his eye and cheeks. He had little time to do anything as Hook's left hand jabbed him in the eye. He fell backwards and Hook pounced on him as a tiger does its prey. The pirate straddled him. Then holding him down with the hook, blood seeping through the Shark's shirt, he repeatedly punched the man with his fist.

Hook's hair fell out of its queue from his exertions and pushing his hair out of his eyes, he stopped. Sitting back, panting with his exertion, he reached down and grabbed the man's hair. The pirate whispered harshly. "I know, sir, exactly what you planned to do to her. And I beg to differ."

Slamming the man's head into the floor, pirate's eyes turned red and deadly.

"And now, sir, I kill you." His hook slashed down and opened the man from throat to groin. And then Hook looked at him with disgust, and dropped him onto the floor as the man's screams stopped.

Standing he said, "Yes, this ship has sunk. 'Tis time, me hearties, to return to the Jolly Roger. Shall we?" He smiled coldly and, for good measure, kicked the man in his crotch.

Signaling to his men, the pirate captain stalked out, his men following. Smee hurried to the bartender, set a bag of gold on the counter, and then quickly went out the door. The door slammed shut behind them. Quiet settled over the bar.

The bartender stood in shock, and then remembering himself, he ran to the door and threw it open. The street was empty - no cars, no people - simply silence. The man didn't notice a three masted ship flying high in the sky towards the stars.

He carefully shut the door and turned, looking at the bloody men on his floor and wondering how to get rid of them. And then everyone calmly returned to what they had been doing before they were interrupted.


	11. Epilogue

**Alas, our tale has come to its end. Our Beloved Captain is still not mine, but Maddie is. I hope you enjoyed this brief tale.**

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The Jolly Roger lay at anchor and quietly rocked in the cool night air. Pan was somewhere in the Otherworld and Neverland was covered in snow. Hook stood alone at the prow of his ship, staring at the coastline, a dark heavy silhouette. The silver moon glowed, silently watching the pirate, while the stars twinkled in silent companionship. He was wrapped in his red banyan, and a heavy silver locket rested on his bare chest. He smoked his double cigars, and a goblet of muscat sat on the railing of the ship.

He'd been unable to sleep and decided to calm his mind, thoughts tumbling around in his head. Closing his eyes for a moment, he saw her face in his mind's eye. No wonder Pan refused to feel emotions, love, worry, fear, sorrow, they were too heavy to bear at times. His heart clutched at the thought of what had occurred to Maddie. He never wanted to feel grief like again. Even now the memory of it pained him although the feeling had dulled over time. He inhaled deeply to steady himself. He was a pirate. He was Captain James Hook, and he feared no one and nothing. The crocodile was dead, some day he would defeat Pan, and then -

An elegant feminine hand slid around his waist and grasped his wrist. He felt the woman lean her head against his back as her other hand slid up his chest, embracing him. Her warmth seeped into his cool back.

She murmured quietly, "My pirate, why are you not in bed? It's cold without you, and I need you to warm me in our blankets. Stop reliving it. I survived, thanks to you, pirate, and now we are here, together forever."

"My mermaid," he whispered, setting his cigar holder down, he pulled her to his side. His scarred wrist gently trailed over the scar on her cheek. He said softly and rather absently, "How close I came to losing my treasure." She closed her eyes at his gentle touch. His eyes glowed a deep blue in the silver moonlight, and for a moment the memory of his grief haunted his eyes. The man passed his wrist across her lips and the woman pursed them at his touch, giving the briefest of kisses against his skin. Her eyes opened, catching his fathomless gaze. The slightest of smiles skittered across Hook's mouth.

Then, tracing her jawline, he continued in a haughty voice, "My brilliant mermaid, I was simply charting our course once I defeat Pan." He exhaled sharply and pulled her close to him.

"Do you ever stop scheming, my pirate?" His mermaid whispered, lifting her head upwards. Her molten chocolate eyes twinkled mischievously in the moonlight.

He ran his thumb over her cheek, and across her lower lip. The minx nipped his finger and he felt her hand slide into the front of his robe. He exhaled again and then smiled. "No, but I do believe that tonight I can be persuaded to pursue alternate activities in addition to plotting."

She smiled wickedly at him, and tugged on his arm. "Come, pirate, I think it's time for you to torture your captured lady until she screams."

He made a show of resistance, and then grabbed her up in his arms. "That sounds like an excellent idea, my love. She does seem to be a saucy, mouthy chit, and perhaps she needs to learn who the pirate captain is on this fine vessel."

Laughter followed by weak cries of "Put me down, you evil man," echoed across the deck of the Jolly Roger as the pirate captain flung his cheeky wench over his shoulder and strode to the cabin of the pirate, Captain Jas. Hook and his lady.

_Fin_


End file.
